Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

EP2139924A1 - Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof - Google Patents

Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof

Info

Publication number
EP2139924A1
EP2139924A1 EP08715601A EP08715601A EP2139924A1 EP 2139924 A1 EP2139924 A1 EP 2139924A1 EP 08715601 A EP08715601 A EP 08715601A EP 08715601 A EP08715601 A EP 08715601A EP 2139924 A1 EP2139924 A1 EP 2139924A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
antibody
replaced
igg4
region
vivo method
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP08715601A
Other languages
German (de)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP2139924B1 (en
Inventor
Janine Schuurman
Tom Vink
Jan Van De Winkel
Aran Frank Labrijn
Rob Aalberse
Marijn Van Der Neut Kolfschoten
Paul Parren
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Genmab AS
Original Assignee
Genmab AS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Genmab AS filed Critical Genmab AS
Priority to EP12199117.8A priority Critical patent/EP2626372B1/en
Publication of EP2139924A1 publication Critical patent/EP2139924A1/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP2139924B1 publication Critical patent/EP2139924B1/en
Active legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Classifications

    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K16/00—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies
    • C07K16/46—Hybrid immunoglobulins
    • C07K16/468—Immunoglobulins having two or more different antigen binding sites, e.g. multifunctional antibodies
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P31/00—Antiinfectives, i.e. antibiotics, antiseptics, chemotherapeutics
    • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
    • A61—MEDICAL OR VETERINARY SCIENCE; HYGIENE
    • A61P—SPECIFIC THERAPEUTIC ACTIVITY OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OR MEDICINAL PREPARATIONS
    • A61P35/00—Antineoplastic agents
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K16/00—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K16/00—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies
    • C07K16/18—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans
    • C07K16/28—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants
    • C07K16/2863—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants against receptors for growth factors, growth regulators
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K16/00—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies
    • C07K16/18—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans
    • C07K16/28—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants
    • C07K16/2887—Immunoglobulins [IGs], e.g. monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies against material from animals or humans against receptors, cell surface antigens or cell surface determinants against CD20
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K2317/00—Immunoglobulins specific features
    • C07K2317/20—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by taxonomic origin
    • C07K2317/24—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by taxonomic origin containing regions, domains or residues from different species, e.g. chimeric, humanized or veneered
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K2317/00—Immunoglobulins specific features
    • C07K2317/30—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by aspects of specificity or valency
    • C07K2317/31—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by aspects of specificity or valency multispecific
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K2317/00—Immunoglobulins specific features
    • C07K2317/50—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by immunoglobulin fragments
    • C07K2317/52—Constant or Fc region; Isotype
    • C07K2317/526—CH3 domain
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K2317/00—Immunoglobulins specific features
    • C07K2317/50—Immunoglobulins specific features characterized by immunoglobulin fragments
    • C07K2317/52—Constant or Fc region; Isotype
    • C07K2317/53—Hinge
    • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
    • C07—ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
    • C07K—PEPTIDES
    • C07K2319/00—Fusion polypeptide

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to novel methods for the production of bispecific antibodies and to bispecific antibodies obtainable by these methods.
  • IgG antibodies exist in four subclasses with distinct structural and functional properties. IgGs are composed of two heavy chain- light chains pairs (half-molecules), which are connected via inter-heavy chain disulfide bonds situated in the hinge region. Human IgG4 molecules exist in various molecular forms which differ by the absence or presence of the inter-heavy chain disulfide bonds located in the hinge region. IgG4 molecules exist in forms in which either both or none of the inter-heavy chain disulfide bonds have been formed (6, 7).
  • human IgG4s exist as tetramers in solution consisting of two Ig heavy and two light chains, as common for immunoglobulin G molecules, due to relatively strong non-covalent interactions between the CH3-domains and between the CHl and CH2 domains (4). Only upon denaturation under non-reducing conditions, the two non-covalently associated half molecules dissociate as demonstrated by size- determination analysis such as SDS-PAGE (6, 9). It has been known for several years that human IgG4 antibodies, unlike other
  • IgG subclasses behave as monovalent molecules in interactions with antigen. It was found that serum-derived human IgG4 cannot precipitate purified antigen, because it cannot crosslink. While such serum-derived IgG4 is functionally monovalent (1, 2), recombinantly produced IgG4, in contrast, is behaving bivalently in interactions with antigens (3). On the basis of these observations, it has been proposed that IgG4 molecules in serum can exchange half-molecules (i.e. a molecule consisting of one heavy chain and one light chain), resulting in the generation of bispecific molecules, which cannot crosslink identical antigens (3-5). This process of half-molecule exchange is also termed "Fab-arm exchange" herein.
  • Bispecific antibodies have interesting potential as therapeutic drugs, since they can be used, for example, as mediators to retarget effector mechanisms to disease-associated sites.
  • one of the major obstacles in the development of bispecific antibodies has been the difficulty of producing the materials in sufficient quality and quantity by traditional technologies, such as the hybrid hybridoma and chemical conjugation methods (10).
  • WO 2005/062916 describes methods for the formation of multimeric molecules on the basis of IgG4 in vivo in mice. Furthermore, WO 2005/062916 describes that co-incubation of two IgG4 antibodies having different antigen-binding specificities in vitro in a saline buffer leads to the formation of products that are capable of reacting with both antigens. However, it has not been demonstrated in WO 2005/062916 whether these products are aggregates or bispecific antibodies, and the yield of the reaction was low under the conditions used.
  • the invention relates to an ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises an
  • the ability for half-molecule exchange may be influenced by sequence differences in the core-hinge region of the molecule, since antibodies having a CPSC sequence in the core hinge region, such as IgG4, exchange more readily than antibodies having a CPPC core hinge sequence, such as IgGl.
  • the CPSC sequence results in a more flexible core-hinge and the possibility to form intra-chain disulfide bonds.
  • the structure of the core hinge is similar to the active domain of protein-disulfide- isomerase (PDI), CXXC.
  • the sequence of the CH3 region should be IgG4-like, i.e. such that it does not form strong inter-half-molecule interactions.
  • the invention relates to an isolated bispecific antibody obtained or obtainable by the method of the invention and to a pharmaceutical composition comprising such an antibody.
  • the invention relates to an isolated bispecific antibody comprising two IgG4-like CH3 regions and to a pharmaceutical composition comprising such an antibody.
  • the invention relates to a method for the selection of a bispecific antibody having a desired property, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a set of antibodies, wherein each antibody has a different target specificity and wherein each antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) incubating each antibody of said set of antibodies with another antibody of said set under reducing conditions, thus generating a set of antibody mixtures, wherein each mixture contains a different bispecific antibody, c) assaying the resulting set of antibody mixtures for a given desired property, and d) selecting a bispecific antibody mixture having the desired property.
  • FIG. 1 SDS-Page analysis of purified recombinant IgGl and IgG4. After purification, the Betvl and FeIdI, IgGl and IgG4 antibodies were analyzed on non-reducing SDS-PAGE.
  • FIG. 1 Bispecific IgG levels in nu/nu Balb/c mice at different time points.
  • the amount of bispecific IgG as determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay was plotted versus the amount of Bet v 1 specific IgG as determined in the Bet v l binding test.
  • Data from IgGl and IgG4 containing plasma samples are represented by open symbols and closed symbols, respectively.
  • the dashed line represents the calculated amount of bispecific IgG, if the exchange of IgG half molecules is random and complete.
  • Bispecific human IgG4 molecules are generated in vivo.
  • Generation of bispecific antibodies was followed in time by assessing the bispecific activity to Bet v 1 and FeI d 1 in plasma.
  • the fraction of bispecific IgG relative to the total IgG-Bet v 1 concentration was expressed as percentage.
  • the arrow with asterisk indicates the bispecific reactivity level expected in mice receiving IgG4-Betvl/IgG4-Feldl in the presence of excess irrelevant IgG4 (4%), the arrow without asterisk that in mice receiving IgG4-Betvl/ IgG4-Feldl mixture (50%). Error bars represent SEM.
  • B Monospecific cross-linking activity was tested by assessing cross-linking of radiolabeled FeI d 1 to FeI d 1- coupled Sepharose in mouse plasma.
  • Monospecific reactivity was expressed as the ratio between the amount of radiolabeled FeI d 1 bound by cross-linking and total IgG-FeIdI in order to correct for the clearance of IgG. Error bars represent SEM.
  • IgG4 Exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating a chimeric IgG4 mixture in lysate from erythrocytes at 37 0 C. IgG4 was incubated with increasing dilutions of lysate. Bispecific activity in the heterologous cross-linking assay (Bet v 1- FeI d 1) was measured in samples drawn at indicated time points. Bispecificity is expressed as percentage 125 I-Bet v 1 bound relative to amount added.
  • GSH mediated exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating IgG4 in the presence of increasing concentrations of GSH in PBS/Azide. At indicated time points samples were drawn in which antigen binding and bispecific activity was measured. The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was calculated from the measured concentration of bispecific IgG (as determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay) and the maximal expected concentration of bispecific IgG4 if the exchange of IgG4 half molecules is random and complete. The exchange was expressed as percentage of the maximal exchange, set at 100%.
  • IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl in PBS were incubated in the presence of different agents (all reducing, except GSSG) for 24h at 37°C.
  • the concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG was measured in the Bet v 1 binding assay and the concentration of bispecific IgG was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay (FeI d 1-Bet v 1).
  • the percentage of bispecific IgG relative to the IgG-Betvl concentration was calculated. Standard error bars represent SEM calculated from three measurements.
  • Figure 16 Exchange of fully human IgG4 antibodies using GSH.
  • IgG4-CD20/IgG4-EGFr or IgGl-CD20/IgGl-EGFr mixtures were incubated at 37°C with or without 0.5 mM GSH. Samples were taken at indicated time points.
  • bispecific antibodies was measured in a sandwich ELISA.
  • Y-axis indicates the optical density at 405 nm as a measurement of the formation of bispecific CD20/EGFR antibodies.
  • bispecific antibodies were measured in a sandwich ELISA.
  • the optical density at 405 nm is plotted on the Y-axis as a measurement of the formation of bispecific CD20/EGFR antibodies.
  • IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4 wt in the figure)
  • IgGl a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl wt)
  • IgGl-CPSC IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC (indicates as IgGl-CPSC)
  • IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl- CH3 (IgG4))
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with a-betvl IgGl CPSC-CH3(IgG4)) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4))
  • IgGl a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl)
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CPSC)
  • IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CH3(IgG4))
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- CH3(G4))
  • IgGl a-feldl R238Q with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-R238Q)
  • IgGl a-feldl K292R with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-K292R)
  • IgGl a-feldl Q302E with IgG4 a-betvl wt indicated as IgGl-Q302E
  • IgGl-P328L IgGl a-feldl P328L with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-P328L)
  • IgG4 a-feldl CPSC-K292R with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292R)
  • IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4)
  • IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl)
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC (indicated as IgGl-CPSC)
  • IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl- CH3(IgG4))
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CPSC-CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4))
  • IgGl a-feldl R238Q with IgGl a-betvl R238Q (indicated as IgGl-R238Q)
  • IgGl-K292R IgGl a-feldl K292R with IgGl a-betvl K292R (indicated as IgGl-K292R)
  • IgGl-Q302E IgGl-Q302E
  • IgGl-P328L IgGl a-feldl P328L with IgGl a-betvl P328L (indicated as IgGl-P328L)
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC-K292R with IgGl a-betvl CPSC-K292R (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-K292R)
  • IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4)
  • FIG. 20 At 0.5 mM GSH, IgG4 molecules with a wild-type (IgG4) core hinge participate in Fab arm exchange of recombinant human IgG4 antibodies, whereas molecules with a IgGl core hinge do not.
  • IgG4-CD20 and IgG4-EGFr Two recombinant human IgG4 antibodies (IgG4-CD20 and IgG4-EGFr, as described above) were incubated with 0.5 mM GSH for 24h at 37°C, in the presence or absence of an excess (50 and 100 micrograms/ml) of Tysabri. The formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA.
  • FIG. 21 Half molecule exchange of IgGl-CPSC constructs with additional mutations at position 292. Half molecule exchange from different IgGl mutants was tested using 0.5 mM GSH. Exchange was tested using the following mixtures:
  • IgGl-2F8 wt with IgGl-7D8 wt (indicated as IgGl)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC with IgGl-7D8-CPSC
  • IgGl-7D8-CPSC indicated as IgGl-CPSC
  • IgGl-2F8-CH3(IgG4) indicated as IgGl-7D8-CH3(IgG4)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4))
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-R238Q with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-R238Q (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-R238Q)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292R with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292R (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292R)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292Y with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292Y (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292Y)
  • IgG 1-2F8-CPSC-K292F with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292F (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292W with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292W (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-K292W)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-Q302E with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-Q302E (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- Q302E)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-P328L with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-P328L (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- P328L)
  • IgG4-2F8 wt with IgG4-7D8 wt (indicated as IgG4)
  • bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA.
  • FIG. 22 Core-hinge stabilization protects IgG4 antibody therapeutics from Fab-arm exchange in vivo.
  • A Detection of Fab-arm exchange between IgG4-EGFR-CPPC and IgG4-CD20 by ESI-TOF mass spectrometry.
  • An IgG4- EGFR-CPPC/ IgG4-CD20 mixture was incubated for 24 hours in the presence (F) of 5 mM GSH, after which the antibodies were deglycosylated with PNGase F and the molecular weights of the resulting antibodies were determined by ESI-TOF mass spectrometry. Shown are the deconvoluted ESI-TOF spectra.
  • Bispecific EGFR/CD20 antibodies could be detected when 5 mM GSH was used (incubation without GSH or in the presence of 0.5 mM GSH did not result in bispecific antibodies (data not shown)).
  • IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt indicated as IgGl
  • IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt indicated as IgG4
  • IgG4 a-feldl CGHC with IgG4 a-betvl CGHC (indicated as CGHC)
  • IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt indicated as IgGl
  • IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt indicated as IgG4
  • IgG4 a-feldl CGHC with IgG4 a-betvl CGHC (indicated as CGHC)
  • immunoglobulin refers to a class of structurally related glycoproteins consisting of two pairs of polypeptide chains, one pair of light (L) low molecular weight chains and one pair of heavy (H) chains, all four inter-connected by disulfide bonds.
  • L light
  • H heavy
  • each heavy chain typically is comprised of a heavy chain variable region (abbreviated herein as V H or VH) and a heavy chain constant region.
  • V H or VH heavy chain variable region
  • the heavy chain constant region typically is comprised of three domains, CHl, CH2, and CH3.
  • Each light chain typically is comprised of a light chain variable region (abbreviated herein as V L or VL) and a light chain constant region.
  • the light chain constant region typically is comprised of one domain, C L .
  • the V H and V L regions may be further subdivided into regions of hypervariability (or hypervariable regions which may be hypervariable in sequence and/or form of structurally defined loops), also termed complementarity determining regions (CDRs), interspersed with regions that are more conserved, termed framework regions (FRs).
  • CDRs complementarity determining regions
  • Each V H and V L is typically composed of three CDRs and four FRs, arranged from amino-terminus to carboxy- terminus in the following order: FRl, CDRl, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3, FR4 (see also (12)).
  • the numbering of amino acid residues in this region is performed by the method described in Kabat (13). Using this numbering system, the actual linear amino acid sequence of a peptide may contain fewer or additional amino acids corresponding to a shortening of, or insertion into, a FR or CDR of the variable domain.
  • a heavy chain variable domain may include a single amino acid insert (residue 52a according to Kabat) after residue 52 of V H CDR2 and inserted residues (for instance residues 82a, 82b, and 82c, etc. according to Kabat) after heavy chain FR residue 82.
  • the Kabat numbering of residues may be determined for a given antibody by alignment at regions of homology of the sequence of the antibody with a "standard" Kabat numbered sequence.
  • antibody in the context of the present invention refers to an immunoglobulin molecule, a fragment of an immunoglobulin molecule, or a derivative of either thereof, which has the ability to specifically bind to an antigen under typical physiological conditions with a half life of significant periods of time, such as at least about 30 minutes, at least about 45 minutes, at least about one hour, at least about two hours, at least about four hours, at least about 8 hours, at least about 12 hours, about 24 hours or more, about 48 hours or more, about 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or more days, etc., or any other relevant functionally-defined period (such as a time sufficient to induce, promote, enhance, and/or modulate a physiological response associated with antibody binding to the antigen and/or time sufficient for the antibody to recruit an Fc-mediated effector activity).
  • variable regions of the heavy and light chains of the immunoglobulin molecule contain a binding domain that interacts with an antigen.
  • the constant regions of the antibodies may mediate the binding of the immunoglobulin to host tissues or factors, including various cells of the immune system (such as effector cells) and components of the complement system such as CIq, the first component in the classical pathway of complement activation.
  • the term antibody herein unless otherwise stated or clearly contradicted by context, includes fragments of an antibody that comprise a mutated or wildtype core hinge region and retain the ability to specifically bind to the antigen.
  • an antibody may be performed by fragments of a full-length antibody.
  • binding fragments encompassed within the term "antibody” include, e.g. F(ab') 2 fragments, which are bivalent fragments comprising two Fab fragments linked by a disulfide bridge at the hinge region.
  • F(ab') 2 fragments which are bivalent fragments comprising two Fab fragments linked by a disulfide bridge at the hinge region.
  • antibody also includes polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), antibody-like polypeptides, such as chimeric antibodies and humanized antibodies, and antibody fragments retaining the ability to specifically bind to the antigen (antigen-binding fragments) provided by any known technique, such as enzymatic cleavage, peptide synthesis, and recombinant techniques.
  • mAbs monoclonal antibodies
  • antibody-like polypeptides such as chimeric antibodies and humanized antibodies
  • antibody fragments retaining the ability to specifically bind to the antigen (antigen-binding fragments) provided by any known technique, such as enzymatic cleavage, peptide synthesis, and recombinant techniques.
  • An antibody as generated can possess any isotype.
  • human antibody is intended to include antibodies having variable and constant regions derived from human germline immunoglobulin sequences.
  • the human antibodies of the invention may include amino acid residues not encoded by human germline immunoglobulin sequences (e.g., mutations introduced by random or site-specific mutagenesis in vitro or by somatic mutation in vivo).
  • human antibody is not intended to include antibodies in which CDR sequences derived from the germline of another mammalian species, such as a mouse, have been grafted onto human framework sequences.
  • an “isolated antibody,” as used herein, is intended to refer to an antibody which is substantially free of other antibodies having different antigenic specificities.
  • An isolated antibody that specifically binds to an epitope, isoform or variant of a particular human target antigen may, however, have cross-reactivity to other related antigens, for instance from other species (such as species homologs).
  • an isolated antibody may be substantially free of other cellular material and/or chemicals.
  • a combination of "isolated" monoclonal antibodies having different specificities are combined in a well-defined composition.
  • the terms "monoclonal antibody” or “monoclonal antibody composition” as used herein refer to a preparation of antibody molecules of single molecular composition.
  • a monoclonal antibody composition displays a single binding specificity and affinity for a particular epitope.
  • the term "human monoclonal antibody” refers to antibodies displaying a single binding specificity which have variable and constant regions derived from human germline immunoglobulin sequences.
  • the human monoclonal antibodies may be generated by a hybridoma which includes a B cell obtained from a transgenic or transchromosomal nonhuman animal, such as a transgenic mouse, having a genome comprising a human heavy chain transgene and a light chain transgene, fused to an immortalized cell.
  • binding in the context of the binding of an antibody to a predetermined antigen typically is a binding with an affinity corresponding to a K D of about 10 ⁇ 7 M or less, such as about 10 "8 M or less, such as about 10 ⁇ 9 M or less, about 10 10 M or less, or about 10 u M or even less when determined by for instance surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology in a BIAcore 3000 instrument using the antigen as the ligand and the antibody as the analyte, and binds to the predetermined antigen with an affinity corresponding to a K D that is at least ten-fold lower, such as at least 100 fold lower, for instance at least 1000 fold lower, such as at least 10,000 fold lower, for instance at least 100,000 fold lower than its affinity for binding to a non-specific antigen (e.g., BSA, casein) other than the predetermined antigen or a closely-related antigen.
  • a non-specific antigen e.g., BSA, casein
  • the amount with which the affinity is lower is dependent on the K D of the antibody, so that when the K D of the antibody is very low (that is, the antibody is highly specific), then the amount with which the affinity for the antigen is lower than the affinity for a non-specific antigen may be at least 10,000 fold.
  • the term "k d " (sec 1 ), as used herein, refers to the dissociation rate constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction. Said value is also referred to as the k off value.
  • k a (M "1 x sec “1 ), as used herein, refers to the association rate constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction.
  • K D (M), as used herein, refers to the dissociation equilibrium constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction.
  • K A (M "1 ), as used herein, refers to the association equilibrium constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction and is obtained by dividing the k a by the k d .
  • isotype refers to the immunoglobulin class (for instance IgGl, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgD, IgA, IgE, or IgM) that is encoded by heavy chain constant region genes.
  • epitope means a protein determinant capable of specific binding to an antibody.
  • Epitopes usually consist of surface groupings of molecules such as amino acids or sugar side chains and usually have specific three dimensional structural characteristics, as well as specific charge characteristics. Conformational and nonconformational epitopes are distinguished in that the binding to the former but not the latter is lost in the presence of denaturing solvents.
  • the epitope may comprise amino acid residues directly involved in the binding (also called immunodominant component of the epitope) and other amino acid residues, which are not directly involved in the binding, such as amino acid residues which are effectively blocked by the specifically antigen binding peptide (in other words, the amino acid residue is within the footprint of the specifically antigen binding peptide).
  • a human antibody is "derived from" a particular germline sequence if the antibody is obtained from a system using human immunoglobulin sequences, for instance by immunizing a transgenic mouse carrying human immunoglobulin genes or by screening a human immunoglobulin gene library, and wherein the selected human antibody is at least 90%, such as at least 95%, for instance at least 96%, such as at least 97%, for instance at least 98%, or such as at least 99% identical in amino acid sequence to the amino acid sequence encoded by the germline immunoglobulin gene.
  • a human antibody derived from a particular human germline sequence will display no more than 20 amino acid differences, e.g. no more than 10 amino acid differences, such as no more than 5, for instance no more than 4, 3, 2, or 1 amino acid difference from the amino acid sequence encoded by the germline immunoglobulin gene.
  • bispecific antibody is intended to include any antibody, which has two different binding specificities, i.e. the antibody binds two different epitopes, which may be located on the same target antigen or, more commonly, on different target antigens.
  • effector cell refers to an immune cell which is involved in the effector phase of an immune response, as opposed to the cognitive and activation phases of an immune response.
  • exemplary immune cells include a cell of a myeloid or lymphoid origin, for instance lymphocytes (such as B cells and T cells including cytolytic T cells (CTLs)), killer cells, natural killer cells, macrophages, monocytes, eosinophils, polymorphonuclear cells, such as neutrophils, granulocytes, mast cells, and basophils.
  • lymphocytes such as B cells and T cells including cytolytic T cells (CTLs)
  • killer cells such as B cells and T cells including cytolytic T cells (CTLs)
  • killer cells such as B cells and T cells including cytolytic T cells (CTLs)
  • killer cells such as B cells and T cells including cytolytic T cells (CTLs)
  • killer cells such as B cells and T cells including cytolytic T cells (CTLs)
  • killer cells such as B
  • an effector cell is capable of inducing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), such as a natural killer cell, capable of inducing ADCC.
  • ADCC antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity
  • monocytes, macrophages, which express FcR are involved in specific killing of target cells and presenting antigens to other components of the immune system, or binding to cells that present antigens.
  • an effector cell may phagocytose a target antigen or target cell.
  • the expression of a particular FcR on an effector cell may be regulated by humoral factors such as cytokines.
  • Fc ⁇ RI has been found to be up-regulated by interferon y (IFN- ⁇ ) and/or G-CSF. This enhanced expression increases the cytotoxic activity of FcyRI-bearing cells against targets.
  • An effector cell can phagocytose or lyse a target antigen or a target cell.
  • Treatment refers to the administration of an effective amount of a therapeutically active compound of the present invention with the purpose of easing, ameliorating, arresting or eradicating (curing) symptoms or disease states.
  • an “effective amount” refers to an amount effective, at dosages and for periods of time necessary, to achieve a desired therapeutic result.
  • a therapeutically effective amount of an antibody may vary according to factors such as the disease state, age, sex, and weight of the individual, and the ability of the antibody to elicit a desired response in the individual.
  • a therapeutically effective amount is also one in which any toxic or detrimental effects of the antibody or antibody portion are outweighed by the therapeutically beneficial effects.
  • IgG4-like core hinge region refers to a core hinge region in which the cysteine residues are significantly more susceptible to reduction and/or disulfide bond isomerization than other cysteines/disulfide bridges in the antibody molecule.
  • reducing conditions can be found under which the cysteine residues/disulfide bridges in the core region can be reduced and subsequently form a disulfide bridge with core hinge cysteines in another half-molecule, while keeping other disulfide bridges in the antibody and the general antibody structure intact.
  • an IgG4-like core hinge region may be an IgG4 core hinge region or a core hinge sequence of an antibody of another isotype in which one of the prolines of the CPPC sequence in the core region has been mutated, e.g. to a serine, such as a mutation of CPPC to CPSC.
  • IgG4-like CH3 region in the context of the present application refers to a CH3 region which is identical to the CH3 of IgG4, e.g. human IgG4, or a CH3 region which is functionally equivalent to a IgG4 CH3 region.
  • Functionally equivalent in this context, means that the CH3 region, similar to the CH3 region of IgG4, does not form stable inter-half-molecule interactions.
  • the formation of stable inter-half-molecules by a given CH3 region can e.g. be tested by replacing the CH3 of an IgG4 with that CH3 region and test for exchange under the conditions given in Examples 31 or 32. If exchange is observed, then no stable inter-half-molecule interactions are formed.
  • an IgG4-like CH3 region may be a CH3 region which is equally efficient in allowing half-molecule exchange as a CH3 region from IgG4. Accordingly, an IgG4-like CH3 region may be structurally similar to the CH3 region of IgG4, e.g. more than 75%, such as more than 90% identical to the sequence of the CH3 region of IgG4.
  • an IgG4-like CH3 region in the present context may in addition or alternatively be a CH3 region which structurally is not close to the CH3 region of IgG4, but has similar functional characteristics in that it does not comprise any amino acid residues which participate in the formation of disulfide bonds or covalent or stable non-covalent inter-heavy chain bonds, such as salt bridges, with other peptides comprising an identical amino acid sequence of the CH3 region.
  • an IgG4-like CH3 region can be a mutated IgGl CH3 region in which one or more amino acid residues that are involved in inter-half- molecule CH3-CH3 interactions have been changed or deleted.
  • reducing conditions or “reducing environment” refers to a condition or an environment in which a substrate, here a cysteine residue in the core-region of an antibody, is more likely to become reduced than oxidized.
  • reducing agent refers to a compound which reduces molecules in its environment, i.e., which changes molecules in its environment to become more reduced and more reducing.
  • a reducing agent acts by donating electrons, thereby becoming itself oxidized after having reduced a substrate.
  • a reducing agent is an agent which donates electrons.
  • Examples of reducing agents include dithiothreitol (DTT), mercaptoethanol, cysteine, thioglycolate, cysteamine, glutathione, and sodium borohydride.
  • the reducing agent does not comprise an enzyme.
  • Disulfide bond formation refers to the process of forming a covalent bond between two cysteines present in one or two polypeptides, which is schematized as "-S--S-".
  • Disulfide bond reduction refers to the process of cleaving a disulfide bond, thereby resulting in two thiol groups (-SH groups).
  • disulfide bond isomerization refers to an exchange of disulfide bonds between different cysteines, i.e., the shuffling of disulfide bonds.
  • Protein disulfide bond isomerases refer to proteins which catalyze the isomerization of disulfide bonds in proteins.
  • No significant reduction when used in the context of reduction of disulfide bridges means that generally less than 10%, such as less than 5%, e.g. less than 2% or less than 1% of the specified disulfide bridges in the solution undergo reduction.
  • the invention relates to an ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises an
  • the first and second antibodies used in the methods of the invention are monoclonal antibodies.
  • Monoclonal antibodies may e.g. be produced by the hybridoma method first described by Kohler et al. (14), or may be produced by recombinant DNA methods.
  • Monoclonal antibodies may also be isolated from phage antibody libraries using the techniques described in, for example, Clackson et al. (15) and Marks et al. (16). Monoclonal antibodies may be obtained from any suitable source.
  • monoclonal antibodies may be obtained from hybridomas prepared from murine splenic B cells obtained from mice immunized with an antigen of interest, for instance in form of cells expressing the antigen on the surface, or a nucleic acid encoding an antigen of interest.
  • Monoclonal antibodies may also be obtained from hybridomas derived from antibody-expressing cells of immunized humans or non-human mammals such as rats, dogs, primates, etc.
  • the antibody of the invention is a human antibody.
  • Human monoclonal antibodies directed may be generated using transgenic or transchromosomal mice carrying parts of the human immune system rather than the mouse system.
  • transgenic and transchromosomic mice include mice referred to herein as HuMAb mice and KM mice, respectively, and are collectively referred to herein as "transgenic mice”.
  • HuMAb mice contains a human immunoglobulin gene miniloci that encodes unrearranged human heavy ( ⁇ and y) and K light chain immunoglobulin sequences, together with targeted mutations that inactivate the endogenous ⁇ and K chain loci (17).
  • mice exhibit reduced expression of mouse IgM or K and in response to immunization, the introduced human heavy and light chain transgenes, undergo class switching and somatic mutation to generate high affinity human IgG, K monoclonal antibodies (17-20).
  • the preparation of HuMAb mice is described in detail in ref. 21-25.
  • the HCo7 mice have a JKD disruption in their endogenous light chain (kappa) genes (as described in Chen et al. (26)), a CMD disruption in their endogenous heavy chain genes (as described in Example 1 of WO 01/14424), a KCo5 human kappa light chain transgene (as described in Fishwild et al. (25)), and a HCo7 human heavy chain transgene (as described in US 5,770,429).
  • the HCol2 mice have a JKD disruption in their endogenous light chain (kappa) genes (as described in Chen et al. (26)), a CMD disruption in their endogenous heavy chain genes (as described in Example 1 of WO 01/14424), a KCo5 human kappa light chain transgene (as described in Fishwild et al. (25)), and a HCol2 human heavy chain transgene (as described in Example 2 of WO 01/14424).
  • the endogenous mouse kappa light chain gene has been homozygously disrupted as described in Chen et al.
  • mice strain (26) and the endogenous mouse heavy chain gene has been homozygously disrupted as described in Example 1 of WO 01/09187.
  • This mouse strain carries a human kappa light chain transgene, KCo5, as described in Fishwild et al. (25).
  • This mouse strain also carries a human heavy chain transchromosome composed of chromosome 14 fragment hCF (SC20) as described in WO 02/43478.
  • Splenocytes from these transgenic mice may be used to generate hybridomas that secrete human monoclonal antibodies according to well known techniques.
  • Such transgenic non-human animals, non-human animals comprising an operable nucleic acid sequence coding for expression of antibody used in the invention, non-human animals stably transfected with one or more target-encoding nucleic acid sequences, and the like, are additional features of the present invention.
  • Human monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies to be used in the present invention, or antibodies used in the present invention originating from other species may also be generated transgenically through the generation of another non-human mammal or plant that is transgenic for the immunoglobulin heavy and light chain sequences of interest and production of the antibody in a recoverable form therefrom.
  • antibodies may be produced in, and recovered from, the milk of goats, cows, or other mammals. See for instance US 5,827,690, US 5,756,687, US 5,750,172 and US 5,741,957.
  • human or other antibodies to be used in the present invention may be generated through display-type technologies, including, without limitation, phage display, retroviral display, ribosomal display, and other techniques, using techniques well known in the art and the resulting molecules may be subjected to additional maturation, such as affinity maturation, as such techniques are well known in the art (see for instance ref. 27, 28 and 30 (phage display), 29 (ribosomal display), 31-35 and US 5,733,743). If display technologies are utilized to produce antibodies that are not human, such antibodies may be humanized. As explained above, in some embodiments, the first and/or second antibody used in the method of the invention is an IgG4 antibody.
  • the antibody used in the invention may in principle be of any isotype, provided that the sequences in the CH3 region allow half-molecule exchange.
  • the antibodies used or obtained in the method of the invention may comprise any of the constant region sequences shown in SEQ ID NO: 19-22 (outside any specified mutated positions).
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region.
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises an IgG4-like core hinge region.
  • said first and/or second antibody is an antibody which comprises a CXiX 2 C sequence in the core hinge region, wherein X 1 and X 2 can be any amino acid, provided that Xi and X 2 are not both proline.
  • said first and/or second antibody is an antibody which comprises a CX 3 PC or CPX 3 C sequence in the core hinge region, wherein X 3 can be any amino acid except for proline.
  • said first and/or second antibody is an antibody which comprises a CSPC, CPSC, CRPC, CPRC, CGHC or CPHC sequence in the core hinge region.
  • the above-described mutations may for example be introduced by site-directed mutagenesis well known in the art.
  • isotype typically will be guided by the desired effector functions, such as CDC induction, or activity in ADCC.
  • exemplary isotypes are IgGl, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 (see e.g. SEQ ID NO: 19-22).
  • Either of the human light chain constant regions, kappa or lambda, may be used.
  • the class of an antibody for use in the present invention may be switched by known methods. For example, an antibody to be used in the present invention that was originally IgM, IgGl or IgG2 may be class switched to an IgG4 antibody of the present invention.
  • the effector function of the antibodies of the present invention may be changed by isotype switching to, e.g., an IgGl, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgD, IgA, IgE, or IgM antibody for various therapeutic uses.
  • the first and/or second antibody used in the invention is a full-length antibody. In another embodiment, the first and/or second antibody of the invention used is an antibody fragment.
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises an IgG4 CH3 region, such as the IgG4 CH3 region having the sequence shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO:22).
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region of a non-IgG4 isotype, wherein the CH3 sequence is such, or has been modified such, that it does not comprise any amino acid residues which participate in the formation of disulfide bonds or covalent or stable non-covalent inter-heavy chain bonds with other peptides comprising an identical amino acid sequence of the CH3 region.
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 19), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 238 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Asp (D) in position 239 has been replaced by GIu (E); Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 302 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 328 has been replaced by Leu (L).
  • SEQ ID NO: 19 the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 238 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Asp (D) in position 239 has been replaced by GIu (E); Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 302 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 19), wherein Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R).
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 19), but wherein the Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Tyr (W) or Phe (F).
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 20), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more, or all five of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Met (M) in position 276 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 288 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 298 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 20), wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 20), wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a
  • CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 21), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more or all 10 of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Ser (S) in position 314 has been replaced by Asn (N); Asn (N) in position 322 has been replaced by Lys (K); Met (M) in position 327 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 339 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 349 has been replaced by GIu (E); He (I) in position 352 has been replaced by VaI (V); Arg (R) in position 365 has been replaced by His (H); Phe (F) in position 366 has been replaced by Tyr (Y); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 21), wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
  • the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 21), wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
  • said first antibody comprises a CPPC in the core hinge region and comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region and wherein said second antibody comprises an CPPC in the core hinge region and comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region.
  • the invention relates to an ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, c) incubating said first and second antibodies together under reducing conditions which allow the cysteines in the core hinge region to undergo disulfide- bond isomerization, and d) obtaining a bispecific antibody.
  • the conditions in step c) are chosen such that no significant reduction or isomerization of disulfide bridges outside the core hinge region occurs.
  • the reducing conditions in step c) are conditions that stimulate the intrinsic activity of the core hinge region to perform disulfide bond exchange.
  • step c) comprises the addition of a reducing agent.
  • step c) comprises the addition of an agent selected from the group consisting of: glutathione, L-cysteine, dithiothreitol, beta- mercapto-ethanol and cysteamine.
  • the concentration of said reducing agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 microM of glutathione under the conditions described in Example 31, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 microM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 50 microM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 0.1 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 31.
  • the concentration of said reducing agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is - equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 microM of glutathione under the conditions described in Example 31, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 microM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 50 microM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 0.1 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 31, and
  • - is equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 M of glutathione under the conditions described in Example 31, such as equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 100 mM of glutathione equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 15 mM of glutathione.
  • the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 2 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 4 mM of glutathione, e.g.
  • the redox potential generated by 6 mM of glutathione such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 8 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 35.
  • the concentration of said reducing agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is - equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 2 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 4 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 6 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 8 mM of glutathione, e.g.
  • the redox potential generated by 10 mM of glutathione under the conditions described in Example 35, and equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 M of glutathione, such as equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 100 mM of glutathione equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 15 mM of glutathione.
  • step c) comprises the incubation of said antibodies in the presence of reduced glutathione for at least 1 hours, such as for at least 2 hours, e.g. for at least 5 hours, such as at least 10 hours at a temperature of 20°C or more, such as 37 °C.
  • the conditions chosen in step c) are such that fewer than 10%, such as fewer than 5%, e.g. fewer than 2%, such as fewer than 1% of the antibody molecules in the resulting composition are in an aggregated state, as determined by size-exclusion chromatography as described herein (wherein a peak eluting earlier than the antibodies of the starting material is indicative of the formation of aggregates).
  • the method comprises the addition of a protein having protein disulfide isomerase activity, such as PDI. In another embodiment of the ex vivo method of the invention, the method does not comprise the addition of a protein having protein disulfide isomerase activity, such as PDI.
  • the method does not comprise the addition of living cells or cell extracts.
  • the first and second antibody used in the method of the invention differ in binding specificity, i.e. bind different epitopes.
  • any combination of specificities can be used as starting material in the method of the invention.
  • the method of invention is also not limited to having only two different antibodies as starting material.
  • the method of the invention may also be performed with three or more antibodies as starting material.
  • the composition obtained in step d) of the method of invention will contain a plurality of bispecific antibodies.
  • the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4, CD38 or CXCR5 or for the signaling components of the B cell receptor, CD79a or CD79b.
  • a tumor cell or tumor cell protein such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4, CD38 or CXCR5 or for the signaling components of the B cell receptor, CD79a or CD79b.
  • the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5, and the second antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5.
  • a tumor cell or tumor cell protein such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5.
  • the first antibody has a binding specificity for erbBl and the second antibody has a binding specificity for erbB2.
  • the first antibody has a binding specificity for CD19 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for CD20.
  • the first antibody has a binding specificity for CD38 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for CD34.
  • the first antibody has a binding specificity for CD4 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for CXCR5.
  • the first antibody has a binding specificity for a pathogenic microorganism.
  • the first antibody has a binding specificity for a pathogenic microorganism and the second antibody has binding specificity for an effector cell protein, such as CD3, CD25, CD28, CD16, CD89, CD32 or CDl.
  • a bispecific antibody can also be used to target a chemotherapeutic agent more specifically to the cells on which the agent should act.
  • the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for a chemotherapeutic agent.
  • serum half-life of an antibody may be altered by including in a bispecific antibody a binding specificity for a serum protein.
  • serum half- life may be prolonged by including in a bispecific antibody, a binding specificity for serum albumin.
  • the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for a blood protein, such as serum albumin
  • a second binding specificity can also be used to target an antibody to a specific tissue, such as brain or liver.
  • the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for a brain protein, such as transferrin or a liver protein.
  • a tumor cell or tumor cell protein such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5
  • a brain protein such as transferrin or a liver protein.
  • a second binding specificity can be used to target blood clotting factors to a particular desired site of action.
  • a bispecific antibody having a first binding specificity for a tumor cell and a second binding specificity for a blood clotting factor could direct blood clotting to a tumor, and thus stop tumor growth.
  • the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for a protein involved in blood clotting, such as tissue factor.
  • the first and/or second antibody is linked to a compound selected from the group consisting of: a cytotoxic agent; a radioisotope; a prodrug or drug, such as a taxane; a cytokine; a chemokine and complement, such as CIq.
  • a compound selected from the group consisting of: a cytotoxic agent; a radioisotope; a prodrug or drug, such as a taxane; a cytokine; a chemokine and complement, such as CIq.
  • a compound selected from the group consisting of: a cytotoxic agent; a radioisotope; a prodrug or drug, such as a taxane; a cytokine; a chemokine and complement, such as CIq.
  • Such compound may make killing of target cells more effective, e.g. in cancer therapy.
  • the compound may alternatively be coupled to the resulting bispecific antibody, i.e. after the half-
  • the resulting bispecific antibodies are stabilized by performing a chemical cross-linking of the two half-molecules, thus preventing any further exchange, even when the bispecific antibody is subsequently used under conditions, such as in vivo conditions, where the antibody could otherwise undergo half-molecule exchange.
  • the method of the invention comprises the further step of: a) chemically cross-linking the cysteines in the hinge region, e.g.
  • the invention relates to stabilized bispecific antibodies obtained or obtainable by cross-linking methods, e.g. by any of the three cross- linking methods described above.
  • the method of the invention may, in some embodiments, comprise a further step of purifying the bispecific antibody.
  • Mixtures containing bispecific antibodies can be purified using standard chromatography techniques, such as (but not limited to) standard Protein A chromatography, Protein G, Protein L, cationic/anionic exchange chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, thiophilic chromatography or using ligands designed to capture IgG molecules (Protein A mimetics, Llama V HH ligands and the like).
  • the IgG mixtures can be precipitated using standard techniques such as salt-induced precipitation (ammonium sulphate), addition of organic solvents (DMSO, ethanol), changing pH or non-ionic polymers (Polyethylene Glycol).
  • mixtures can be applied to filtration techniques using membranes allowing concentration of the IgG molecules. Combinations of all these techniques may be required to purify a bispecific antibody to full homogeneity as certain mixtures may still contain the parent IgG molecules next to the bispecific antibody. Additional purification steps may then be required to separate the bispecific antibody from the parent monospecific IgG molecules. This could e.g.
  • the purification is done by purification by binding and elution using an affinity column for the first binding specificity followed by binding and elution using an affinity column for the second binding specificity.
  • the purification is done under conditions that prevent further half-molecule exchange, such as non-reducing conditions.
  • the quantity, quality and purity of (purified) bispecific antibodies can be analyzed using routine biochemical techniques such as absorbance measurements, HP-SEC, SDS-PAGE, native PAGE and RP-HPLC. Of particular interest are techniques that can discriminate bispecific antibodies from the parent IgG molecules.
  • bispecific antibody can be assessed using a variety of different binding assay formats using for instance ELISA, RIA, Surface plasma resonance (SPR), Bio-layer Interferometry, DELFIA, FRET, ECL, Gyros and AlfaScreen.
  • half molecule exchange may be performed under conditions that favour formation of bispecific antibodies directed against one of the two antigens of interest. For example, consider antibodies against antigens X and Y. If exchange is performed using an excess of antibody against antigen X, such as a 5 fold excess or 10 fold excess, most or all antibodies against antibody Y will become bispecific (i.e. recognizing antigens X and Y).
  • bispecific antibodies may be cross-linked as described above.
  • non-stabilized antibodies can be purified from stabilized antibody by performing an additional exchange reaction with an excess of antibody against antigen Z followed by absorption of anti-Z containing antibody against matrix-immobilized antigen Z (such as by affinity columns chromatography). The non-bound fraction then contains the desired stabilized bispecific antibody.
  • the method comprises the further step of formulating the resulting bispecific antibodies for therapeutic use.
  • This comprises the formulation of a therapeutically effective amount of the bispecific antibody in an aqueous solution that is suitable for human use, in particular suitable for parenteral, such as intravenous administration.
  • the invention relates to an ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region and an IgG4 CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises a
  • a reducing agent has been added wherein the concentration of said agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 2 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 4 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 6 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 8 mM of glutathione, e.g.
  • the invention relates to a composition comprising bispecific antibodies obtained or obtainable by any of the method of the invention as described herein.
  • the invention relates to an isolated bispecific antibody comprising two IgG4-like CH3 regions.
  • said antibody comprises one or two CPPC sequences in the core hinge region. In another embodiment, said antibody comprises one or two CXiX 2 C sequences in the core hinge region, wherein X 1 and X 2 can be any amino acid, provided that Xi and X 2 are not both proline.
  • said the antibody comprises one or two CX 3 PC or CPX 3 C sequences in the core hinge region, wherein X 3 can be any amino acid except for proline.
  • said antibody comprises one or two CSPC, CPSC, CRPC or CPRC sequences in the core hinge region.
  • the first and/or the second CH3 region is of a non-IgG4 isotype, wherein the CH3 sequence is such, or has been modified such, that it does not comprise any amino acid residues which participate in the formation of disulfide bonds or covalent or stable non-covalent inter-heavy chain bonds with other peptides comprising an identical amino acid sequence of the CH3 region.
  • the first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 19), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 238 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Asp (D) in position 239 has been replaced by GIu (E); Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 302 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 328 has been replaced by Leu (L).
  • SEQ ID NO: 19 wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 238 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Asp (D) in position 239 has been replaced by GIu (E); Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 302 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P
  • said first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 20), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Met (M) in position 276 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 288 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 298 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
  • SEQ ID NO: 20 wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Met (M) in position 276 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 288 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 298 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P
  • said first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 21), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Ser (S) in position 314 has been replaced by Asn (N); Asn (N) in position 322 has been replaced by Lys (K); Met (M) in position 327 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 339 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 349 has been replaced by GIu (E); He (I) in position 352 has been replaced by VaI (V); Arg (R) in position 365 has been replaced by His (H); Phe (F) in position 366 has been replaced by Tyr (Y); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
  • SEQ ID NO: 21 wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of
  • the first and/or the second CH3 region of the antibody of the invention is an IgG4 CH3 region.
  • invention relates to a composition, such as a pharmaceutical composition comprising bispecific antibodies of the invention or bispecific antibodies obtained or obtainable by any of the method of the invention as described herein for use as a medicament, such as for use as a medicament for the treatment of cancer or infectious diseases.
  • a composition such as a pharmaceutical composition comprising bispecific antibodies of the invention or bispecific antibodies obtained or obtainable by any of the method of the invention as described herein for use as a medicament, such as for use as a medicament for the treatment of cancer or infectious diseases.
  • invention relates to the use of a composition comprising bispecific antibodies of the invention or bispecific antibodies obtained or obtainable by any of the method of the invention for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of cancer or infectious diseases.
  • the method of the invention can also be used to select particularly interesting or effective combinations of target binding specificities. For instance, using the method of the invention, a set or "matrix" of different bispecific antibodies can be made from a set of antibodies having different binding specificities. The resulting bispecific antibody set or matrix can then be tested for a desired biological property to select the best combination.
  • the invention relates to a method for the selection of a bispecific antibody having a desired property, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a set of antibodies, wherein each antibody has a different target specificity and wherein each antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) incubating each antibody of said set of antibodies with another antibody of said set under reducing conditions, thus generating a set of antibody mixtures, wherein each mixture contains a different ' bispecific antibody, c) assaying the resulting set of antibody mixtures for a given desired property, and d) selecting a bispecific antibody mixture having the desired property.
  • Step b) in the method above can be performed as previously described above for step c).
  • the desired property to be tested is tumor cell killing.
  • Example 1 Oligonucleotide primers and PCR amplification
  • Oligonucleotide primers were synthesized and quantified by Isogen Bioscience (Maarssen, The Netherlands). Primers were dissolved in H 2 O to 100 pmol/ ⁇ l and stored at -2O 0 C. A summary of all PCR and sequencing primers is given below. For PCR, PfuTurbo® Hotstart DNA polymerase (Stratagene, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) was used according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  • Each reaction mix contained 200 ⁇ M mixed dNTPs (Roche Diagnostics, Almere, The Netherlands), 6.7 pmol of both the forward and reverse primer, 100 ng of genomic DNA or 1 ng of plasmid DNA and 1 unit of PfuTurbo® Hotstart DNA polymerase in PCR reaction buffer (supplied with polymerase) in a total volume of 20 ⁇ l.
  • PCR reactions were carried out with a TGradient Thermocycler 96 (Whatman Biometra, Goettingen, Germany) using a 32-cycle program: denaturing at 95°C for 2 min; 30 cycles of 95°C for 30 sec, a 60-70 0 C gradient (or another specific annealing temperature) for 30 sec, and 72°C for 3 min; final extension at 72°C for 10 min. If appropriate, the PCR mixtures were stored at 4°C until further analysis or processing.
  • Agarose gel electrophoresis was performed according to Sambrook (37) using gels of 50 ml, in 1 x Tris Acetate EDTA buffer. DNA was visualized by the inclusion of ethidium bromide in the gel and observation under UV light. Gel images were recorded by a CCD camera and an image analysis system (GeneGnome; Syngene, via Westburg B. V., Leusden, The Netherlands).
  • Example 3 Analysis and purification of PCR products and enzymatic digestion Purification of desired PCR fragments was carried out using a MinElute PCR Purification Kit (Qiagen, via Westburg, Leusden, The Netherlands; product* 28006), according to the manufacturer's instructions. Isolated DNA was quantified by UV spectroscopy and the quality was assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Alternatively, PCR or digestion products were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis (e.g. when multiple fragments were present) using a 1% Tris Acetate EDTA agarose gel. The desired fragment was excised from the gel and recovered using the QIAEX II Gel Extraction Kit (Qiagen; product* 20051), according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  • QiAEX II Gel Extraction Kit Qiagen; product* 20051
  • DNA 100 ng was digested with 5 units of enzyme(s) in the appropriate buffer in a final volume of 10 ⁇ l (reaction volumes were scaled up as appropriate).
  • Digestions were incubated at the recommended temperature for a minimum of 60 min. For fragments requiring double digestions with restriction enzymes which involve incompatible buffers or temperature requirements, digestions were performed sequentially. If necessary digestion products were purified by agarose gel electrophoresis and gel extraction.
  • Ligations of DNA fragments were performed with the Quick Ligation Kit (New England Biolabs) according to the manufacturer's instructions. For each ligation, vector DNA was mixed with approximately three-fold molar excess of insert DNA.
  • Example 7 Transformation of E. coli Plasmid DNA (1-5 ⁇ l of DNA solution, typically 2 ⁇ l of DNA ligation mix) was transformed into One Shot DH5 ⁇ -Tl R or MACH-I T1 R competent E. coli cells (Invitrogen, Breda, The Netherlands; product* 12297-016) using the heat-shock method, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Next, cells were plated on Luria-Bertani (LB) agar plates containing 50 ⁇ g/ml ampicillin. Plates were incubated for 16-18 h at 37°C until bacterial colonies became evident.
  • LB Luria-Bertani
  • Example 8 Screening of bacterial colonies by PCR
  • Bacterial colonies were screened for the presence of vectors containing the desired sequences via colony PCR using the HotStarTaq Master Mix Kit (Qiagen; product* 203445) and the appropriate forward and reverse primers (Appendix 1).
  • PCR was performed with a TGradient Thermocycler 96 using a 35-cycle program: denaturation at 95°C for 15 min; 35 cycles of 94°C for 30 sec, 55°C for 30 sec and 72°C for 2 min; followed by a final extension step of 10 min at 72°C. If appropriate, the PCR mixtures were stored at 4°C until analysis by agarose gel electrophoresis.
  • Example 9 Plasmid DNA isolation from E. coli culture Plasmid DNA was isolated from E. coli cultures using the following kits from
  • Plasmid DNA was sequenced using standard procedures known in the art. Sequences were analyzed using Vector NTI software (Informax, Oxford, UK).
  • Example 11 Transient expression in HEK-293F cells
  • FreestyleTM 293-F (a HEK-293 subclone adapted to suspension growth and chemically defined Freestyle medium, e. g. HEK-293F) cells were obtained from Invitrogen and transfected according to the manufacturer's protocol using 293fectin (Invitrogen).
  • Example 12 Construction of pTomG4; A vector for the expression of variable heavy chain regions with the constant region of human IgG4
  • Genomic DNA was isolated from a blood sample of a volunteer and used as a template in a PCR with primers IGG4gene2f and IGG4gene2r (see table below), amplifying the complete genomic constant region of the heavy chain of IgG4 and introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into the mammalian expression vector pEE6.4 (Lonza Biologies).
  • the PCR fragment was purified and cloned into pEE6.4. For this the PCR product was digested with HindIII and EcoRI, followed by heat inactivation of the restriction enzymes.
  • the pEE6.4 vector was digested HindIII and EcoRI, followed by heat inactivation of the restriction enzymes and dephosphorylation of the vector fragment with shrimp alkaline phosphatase, followed by heat inactivation of the phosphatase.
  • the IgG4 fragment and the pEE6.4HindIII/EcoRI dephosphorylated vector were ligated and transformed into competent MACH1-T1 R cells (Invitrogen). Three clones were grown in LB and plasmid DNA was isolated from a small culture (1.5 mL). Restriction digestion revealed a pattern consistent with the cloning of the IgG4 fragment in the pEE6.4 vector.
  • Plasmid DNA from two clones was transformed in DH5 ⁇ -Tl R E.coli and plasmid DNA was isolated and the constructs were checked by sequence analysis of the insert and one clone was found to be identical to a genomic IgG4 clone from the Genbank database, apart from some minor differences in introns. These differences are presumably either polymorphisms or sequence faults in the Genbank sequence.
  • the plasmid was named pTomG4.
  • RNA was prepared from O.3xlO 5 (Betvl) or 0.9xl0 5 (FeIdI) mouse hybridoma cells (For Betvl: clone 2H8 from ref. 38 and for FeIdI: clone 4F7 from ref. 39 with the RNeasy kit (Qiagen, Westburg, Leusden, Netherlands) according to the manufacturer's protocol.
  • RNA 5'-RACE-Complementary DNA (cDNA) of RNA was prepared from approximately 100 ng total RNA, using the SMART RACE cDNA Amplification kit (BD Biosciences Clontech, Mountain View, CA, USA), following the manufacturer's protocol.
  • VL and VH regions of the Betvl and FeIdI antibody were amplified by PCR.
  • PfuTurbo® Hotstart DNA polymerase (Stratagene) was used according to the manufacturer's instructions. Each reaction mix contained 200 ⁇ M mixed dNTPs (Roche Diagnostics), 12 pmol of the reverse primer (RACEGlmml for the VH region and RACEKmml for the VL region), 7.2 pmol UPM-Mix (UPM-Mix: 2 ⁇ M ShortUPMH3 and 0.4 ⁇ M LongUPMH3 oligonucleotide), 0.6 ⁇ l of the 5'RACE cDNA template as described above, and 1.5 unit of PfuTurbo® Hotstart DNA polymerase in PCR reaction buffer (supplied with polymerase) in a total volume of 30 ⁇ l. PCR reactions were carried out with a TGradient Thermocycler 96 (Whatman
  • VH sequence Betvl (SEQ ID NO: 15): mkcswvifflmavvtgvnsevqlqqsgaelvkpgasvklsctasgfnikdtyihwvkqrpeqglewvgridpatgntr ydpkfqgkatitadtssntaylqlssltsedtavyycasfrpgyaldywgqgtsvtvss
  • VL sequence Betvl (SEQ ID NO: 16): mesqiqafvfvflwlsgvdgdivmtqshkfmstsvgdrvsftckasqdvftavawyqqkpgqspklliywastrrtgvp drftgsgsgtdytltissvqaedlalyycqqhfstpptfgggtkleik
  • VH sequence FeIdI (SEQ ID NO:17): mgwsyiilflvatatdvhsqvqlqqpgaelvkpgasvklsckasgysftsywmhwlkqrpgqglewigeinpnngrty ynekfktkatltvdkssstaymqlnsltsedsavyycarrltmvesfaywgqgtlvtfsa
  • VL sequence FeIdI (SEQ ID NO: 18): mesqtqvlmsllfwvsgtcgdivmtqspssltvtagekvtmsckssqsllnsgnqknyltwyqqkpgqppklliywas tresgvpdrftgsgsgtdfsltissvqaedlaiyycqndysypftfgsgtkleik
  • Example 14 Construction of pConGlfBetVl: A vector for the production of the heavy chain of Betvl -IgGl
  • the V H coding region of mouse anti-BetVl antibody was amplified by PCR from a plasmid containing this region (example 13) using the primers VHexbetvlfor and VHexbetvlrev, introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into pConGlfO.4 and an ideal Kozak sequence.
  • the VH fragment was gel purified and cloned into pConGlfO.4.
  • the PCR product and the pConKappa0.4 vector were digested with HindIII and Apal and purified.
  • the V H fragment and the pConGlf0.4HindIII-ApaI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5 ⁇ -Tl R cells. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the correct sequence was confirmed.
  • This plasmid was named pConGlfBetvl.
  • Example 15 Construction of pConKBetvl: A vector for the production of the light chain of Betvl
  • _ coding region mouse anti-BetVl antibody was amplified from a plasmid containing this region (example 13) using the primers VLexbetvlfor and VLexbetvlrev, introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into pConK0.4 and an ideal Kozak sequence.
  • the PCR product and the pConKappa0.4 vector were digested with HindIII and BsiWI and purified.
  • the V L fragment and the pConKappa0.4HindIII- BsiWI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5 ⁇ T1 R E. coli. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pConKBetvl.
  • Example 16 Construction of pTomG4 Betvl: A vector for the production of the heavy chain of Betvl-IgG4
  • pTomG4 and pConGlfBetvl were digested with HindIII and Apal and the relevant fragments were isolated.
  • the Betvl V H fragment and the pTomG4HindIII-ApaI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5 ⁇ -Tl R cells. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pTomG4Betvl.
  • Example 17 Construction of pConGlfFeldl: A vector for the production of the heavy chain of FeIdI-IgGl
  • V H coding region of mouse anti-Feldl antibody was amplified by PCR from a plasmid containing this region (example 13) using the primers VHexfeldlfor and
  • VHexfeldlrev introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into pConGlfO.4 and an ideal Kozak sequence.
  • the VH fragment was gel purified and cloned into pConGlfO.4.
  • the PCR product and the pConKappa0.4 vector were digested with HindIII and Apal and purified.
  • the V H fragment and the pConGlf0.4HindIII-ApaI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5 ⁇ -Tl R cells. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the correct sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pConGlfFeldl.
  • Example 18 Construction of pConKFeldl: A vector for the production of the light chain of FeIdI
  • _ coding region mouse anti- v FeIdI antibody was amplified from a plasmid containing this region (example 13) using the primers VLexfeldlfor and VLexfeldlrev, introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into pConK0.4 and an ideal Kozak sequence.
  • the PCR product and the pConKappa0.4 vector were digested with HindIII and BsiWI and purified.
  • the V L fragment and the pConKappa0.4HindIII- BsiWI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5 ⁇ T1 R E. coli. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pConKFeldl.
  • Example 19 Construction of pTomG4Feldl: A vector for the production of the heavy chain of Feldl-IgG4
  • pTomG4 and pConGlf FeIdI were digested with HindIII and Apal and the relevant fragments were isolated.
  • the FeIdI V H fragment and the pTomG4HindIII-ApaI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5 ⁇ -Tl R cells. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pTomG4Feldl.
  • Example 20 Construction of antibody expression vectors for the expression of 2F8-IgG4 and 7D8-IgG4
  • HuMab 2F8 IgGl-EGFR
  • HuMab 7D8 IgGl-CD20
  • the VH and VL coding regions of HuMab 2F8 (WO 02/100348) and HuMab 7D8 (WO 04/035607) were cloned in the expression vector pConGlf (Lonza Biologies) for the production of the IgGl heavy chain and pConKappa for the production of the kappa light chain, yielding the vectors pConGlf2F8, pConGlf7D8, pConKappa2F8 and pConKappa7D8.
  • VH regions of pConGlf2F8 and pConGlf7D8 were removed from these vectors by a Hindlll/Apal digestion and inserted into a Hindlll/Apal digested pTomG4 vector, resulting in pTomG42F8 and pTomG47D8 respectively.
  • Example 21 Production of Betvl-IgGl, Betvl-IgG4, FeIdI-IgGl and FeIdI- IgG4 by transient expression in HEK- 293F cells
  • Antibodies were produced from all constructs by cotransfecting the relevant heavy and light chain vectors in HEK-293F cells using 293fectin according to the manufacturer's instructions.
  • Betvl-IgGl pConGIBetvl and pConKBetvl were coexpressed.
  • Betvl-IgG4 pTomG4Betvl and pConKBetvl were coexpressed.
  • FeIdI-IgGl pConGlFeldl and pConKFeldl were coexpressed.
  • Feldl-IgG4 pTomG4Feldl and pConKFeldl were coexpressed.
  • IgGl-EGFr For IgGl-EGFr, pConGlf2F8 and pConKappa2F8 were coexpressed. For IgG4-EGFr, pTomG42F8 and pConKappa2F8 were coexpressed. For IgGl-CD20, pConGlf7D8 and pConKappa7D8 were coexpressed. For IgG4-CD20, pTomG47D8 and pConkappa7D8 were coexpressed.
  • IgGl and IgG4 antibodies were purified by protein A affinity chromatography.
  • the cell culture supernatants were filtered over a 0.20 ⁇ M dead-end filter, followed by loading on a 5 ml Protein A column (rProtein A FF, GE Healthvcare) and elution of the IgG with 0.1 M citric acid-NaOH, pH 3.
  • the eluate was immediately neutralized with 2 M Tris-HCI, pH 9 and dialyzed overnight to 12.6 mM sodium phosphate, 140 mM NaCI, pH 7.4 (B. Braun, Oss, The Netherlands).
  • samples were sterile filtered over a 0.20 ⁇ M dead-end filter. Concentration of the purified IgGs was determined by nephelometry and absorbance at 280 nm. Purified proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE, IEF, Mass spectrometry and Glycoanalysis.
  • the Betvl and FeIdI, IgGl and IgG4 antibodies were analyzed on non-reducing SDS-PAGE.
  • the Bis-Tris electrophoresis method used is a modification of the Laemmli method (Laemmli 1970 Nature 227(5259): 680-5), where the samples were run at neutral pH.
  • the SDS-PAGE gels were stained with
  • Betvl and FeIdI IgGl showed 1 major band representing the full length tetrameric (2 heavy and two light chains) FeIdI and Betvl IgGl molecules.
  • Betvl and FeIdI IgG4 showed to have, besides the major band representing the tetrameric IgG4 molecule, substantial amounts of half- molecules (i.e. one heavy band one light chain).
  • Example 24 Evaluation of IgG4 half molecule exchange in mice Five nu/nu Balb/c mice 6-8 weeks of age were used to follow the exchange of
  • mice were housed in a barrier unit of the Central Laboratory Animal Facility (Utrecht, The Netherlands) and kept in filter-top cages with water and food provided ad libitum. All experiments were approved by the Utrecht University animal ethics committee. Chimeric antibodies were administered intraperitoneal ⁇ . Blood samples (75-
  • Plasma concentrations of Bet v 1 or FeI d 1 binding antibodies were measured in the antigen binding test. To this end, plasma samples were incubated with 0.75 mg of protein G Sepharose (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden) in 750 ⁇ l PBS-IAT (PBS supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg, 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN 3 ) in the presence of 125 I-labeled Bet v 1 or 125 I- labeled FeI d 1 for 24h.
  • protein G Sepharose Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden
  • PBS-IAT PBS supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg, 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN 3
  • the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T (PBS supplemented with 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN 3 ) and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
  • the concentration of Bet v 1 or FeI d 1 specific IgG was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific antibodies or FeI d 1 specific antibodies as a standard (range 0-200 ng per test as determined by nephelometer).
  • the concentration of bispecific IgG was measured in two variants of the heterologous cross-linking assay. In the first assay, plasma was incubated for 24h with Sepharose-coupled Bet v 1 (0.5 mg) in a total volume of 300 ⁇ l in PBS-IAT.
  • the concentration of bispecific IgG (Bet v 1-FeI d 1) was calculated using the calibration curve of the FeI d 1 binding test, which was obtained from purified FeI d 1 binding rlgG.
  • FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity was measured in a similar procedure using Sepharose-coupled rFel d 1 (0.5 mg) and 125 I-labeled Bet v 1.
  • the concentration of bispecific IgG (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific rlgG as a standard (same curve as in Bet v 1 binding test).
  • IgG was observed in the mice dosed with IgGl mixes in contrast to the mice dosed with IgG4. After 24h the generation of bispecific IgG4 was maximal and corresponded to an exchange of 100%.
  • Size-exclusion chromatography was performed to exclude the possibility that bispecific activity observed in the mice dosed with IgG4 was the result of IgG aggregation (see figure 4).
  • FeI d 1 binding antibodies eluted in one peak with a retention volume of ⁇ 12.9 ml, which corresponds to the retention volume of monomeric IgG.
  • the heterologous Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the same fractions indicating that bispecific activity was associated with monomeric IgG.
  • no Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking activity was present before fractionation. Also in the eluted fractions no heterologous cross-linking activity was measured (data not shown).
  • Chimeric antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with whole blood, blood cells, plasma or serum to investigate the exchange activity of whole blood (components).
  • Serum was obtained by incubating whole blood in a glass vacutainer with clot activator for 30 min at 37°C, after which the clotted blood was spinned down.
  • the exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated and compared to the exchange of IgGl half molecules.
  • As a control the blood samples were also incubated in the absence of chimeric antibodies.
  • the following antibodies mixtures were prepared in PBS:
  • Bet v 1 specific IgGl (10 ⁇ g) and FeI d 1 specific IgGl (10 ⁇ g) were incubated with blood, blood cells, plasma or serum in a total volume of 100 ⁇ l (final concentration for each antibody was 0.1 ⁇ g/ml) on a horizontal orbital shaker (125 rpm) at 37°C. Final hematocrit in the incubation mixtures with whole blood and blood cells was around ⁇ 40%.
  • Bispecific activity i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity
  • a sample was incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled recombinant FeI d 1 in a total volume of 300 ⁇ l in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg).
  • PBS-IAT PBS-AT supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg
  • the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125 I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
  • Bet v 1 which was determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay.
  • Bispecific activity is a measure for the exchange of IgG4 half molecules, which was primarily observed in whole blood and the cellular fraction of whole blood (Fig 5a). Bispecific levels in the cellular fraction were even higher than in whole blood. This is most likely explained by the fact that in the cellular fraction endogenous IgG4, which can also be exchanged with the added chimeric IgG4 antibodies, is no longer present. Some bispecific activity was also observed in plasma and serum, but this activity was much lower than observed in whole blood and only slightly higher than background level, being 1.7%, which was obtained by incubating the IgG4 mixture in Optimem.
  • Example 26 Evaluation of blood cell mediated IgG4 exchange activity
  • Chimeric antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with three different types of human blood cells (i.e. mononuclear cells (MNC), erythrocytes and platelets) to investigate IgG4 exchange activity.
  • MNC mononuclear cells
  • erythrocytes and platelets whole blood cells
  • IgG4 exchange activity i.e. mononuclear cells (MNC), erythrocytes and platelets)
  • MNCs mononuclear cells
  • erythrocytes and platelets were obtained from two different anonymous donors. These cells were also resuspended in Optimem after being washed 3 times.
  • platelets were supplemented with 10 mM glucose.
  • the exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated and compared to the exchange of IgGl half molecules.
  • the following antibodies mixtures were prepared in PBS:
  • Bispecific activity i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity
  • a sample was incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled recombinant FeI d 1 in a total volume of 300 ⁇ l in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg).
  • PBS-IAT PBS-AT supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg
  • the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125 I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
  • bispecific activity is shown as percentage bound 125 I-labeled Bet v 1, which was determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay. All three cell types were able to induce bispecific activity. Some bispecific activity was also observed in Optimem serum free medium, but this activity was much lower than observed in the presence of blood cells. None of the tested cells was able to exchange IgGl half molecules.
  • Example 27 Evaluation of IgG4 exchange by human and murine cell lines
  • Chimeric IgG4 antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with three different cell lines (i.e. Human Embryo Kidney (HEK) cells, murine B cells or hybridomas) to investigate IgG4 exchange activity.
  • Cell line J558 provided by the Antigen Presentation Research Group of
  • Hybridomas which produce an anti-Cl esterase inhibitor, were obtained from the Autoimmune Research Group of Sanquin.
  • Suspension HEK (293F) cells were from Invitrogen, Breda, The Netherlands. All cells were washed three times with PBS, after which the cells were resuspended in PBS.
  • IgG4 half molecules The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating an IgG4 antibody mixture consisting of Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (2 ⁇ g) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (2 ⁇ g) with the aforementioned cells.
  • the antibody mixture was incubated with 24xlO 5 HEK cells, 25xlO 5 murine B cells or 2IxIO 5 hybridomas in a total volume of 50 ⁇ l (final concentration for each antibody was 80 ⁇ g/ml) on a horizontal orbital shaker (125 rpm) at 37°C.
  • sample dilutions were incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled recombinant FeI d 1 in a total volume of 300 ⁇ l in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg). Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125 I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
  • bispecific activity is shown as percentage bound 125 I-labeled Bet v 1, which was determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay. All three cell types were able to exchange IgG4 half molecules.
  • Example 28 Evaluation of IgG4 half molecule exchange by erythrocytes.
  • the concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific antibodies as a standard (range 0-200 ng per test as determined by nephelometer). Bispecific activity in experiments using FeI d 1 and Bet v 1 specific antibodies was measured in the Feldl-Betvl cross-linking assay. In this assay, IgG containing sample was incubated for 24h with Sepharose- coupled cat extract (0.5 mg) in a total volume of 300 ⁇ l in PBS-AT.
  • Size-exclusion chromatography was performed to exclude the possibility that bispecific activity observed in the IgG4 mix was the result of IgG aggregation.
  • FeI d 1 binding antibodies eluted in one peak with a retention volume of ⁇ 12.9 ml, which corresponds to the retention volume of monomeric IgG.
  • the heterologous Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the same fractions indicating that bispecific activity was associated with monomeric IgG (data not shown).
  • Example 29 Evaluation of IgG4 exchange by erythrocyte lysate
  • Chimeric IgG4 antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with increasing dilutions of erythrocyte lysate.
  • Erythrocytes were isolated from a healthy donor and stored at 4°C in SAGM (Saline Adenine Glucose Mannitol) buffer with a hematocrit of 60.7%.
  • SAGM Seline Adenine Glucose Mannitol
  • hematocrit 60.7%.
  • PBS- Azide PBS supplemented with 0.05% (w/v) NaN 3
  • undiluted erythrocyte lysate was equivalent to a hematocrit of 30%.
  • IgG4 half molecules The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating an IgG4 antibody mixture consisting of Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (1 ⁇ g) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (1 ⁇ g) with 50 ⁇ l of freshly prepared lysate (supplemented with PBS/ Azide to a total volume of 100 ⁇ l) at 37°C. Final concentration of each antibody was 10 ⁇ g/ml. At indicated time points a sample was drawn from the incubation mix in PBS-AT (PBS supplemented with 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN 3 ) to measure bispecific activity. Samples were stored, if necessary, at 4°C. Bispecific activity (i.e.
  • Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking activity was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay.
  • sample dilutions were incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled birch extract in a total volume of 300 ⁇ l in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg).
  • PBS-IAT PBS-AT supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg
  • the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125 I-labeled FeI d 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
  • the concentration of bispecific IgG (Bet v 1-FeI d 1) was calculated using the calibration curve of the FeI d 1 binding test, which was obtained from purified FeI d 1 binding rlgG.
  • an incubation mixture was prepared consisting of 10 ⁇ g Bet v 1 binding IgG4, 10 ⁇ g FeI d 1 binding IgG4 and 50 ⁇ l erythrocyte lysate, which was supplemented with PBS/Azide to final volume of 100 ⁇ l. This mixture was incubated at 37°C for 24h, after which 70 ⁇ l was fractionated on a Superdex200 column. In the fractions Bet v 1 binding IgG and FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking IgG were measured. Levels of Bet v 1 binding antibodies were measured in the antigen binding test.
  • the concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific antibodies as a standard (range 0-200 ng per test as determined by nephelometer).
  • the concentration of bispecific IgG i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity
  • a sample was incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled cat extract, in which FeI d 1 antigen is present, in a total volume of 300 ⁇ l in PBS-IAT.
  • the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125 I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
  • the concentration of bispecific IgG (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) was calculated using the same calibration curve as used in the Bet v 1 binding test, which was obtained from purified Bet v 1 binding rlgG.
  • Bet v 1 binding antibodies eluted in one peak with a retention volume of ⁇ 12.6 ml, which corresponds to the retention volume of monomeric IgG (Fig 11).
  • the heterologous FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the same fractions indicating that bispecific activity was associated with monomeric IgG.
  • Example 30 Evaluation of IgG4 exchange activity in dialysed erythrocyte lysate
  • Erythrocytes were isolated from a healthy donor and stored at 4°C in SAGM
  • IgG4 half molecules The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating an IgG4 antibody mixture (Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (0.5 ⁇ g) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (0.5 ⁇ g) with freshly prepared erythrocyte lysate (25 ⁇ l) or dialysed lysate (25 ⁇ l) at 37°C. Total volume of each incubation was 50 ⁇ l resulting in a final concentration of 10 ⁇ g/ml for each antibody.
  • the following supplements were used : reduced glutathione (GSH) from Sigma, Glucose-6-phospate (G-6-P) and NADPH (both from Roche). These compounds were dissolved in water before use.
  • Bispecific activity i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity
  • sample dilutions were incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled cat extract in a total volume of 300 ⁇ l in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg).
  • PBS-IAT PBS-AT supplemented with 1 ⁇ g/ml IVIg.
  • the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125 I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
  • Example 31 Evaluation of IgG4 half molecule exchange by reduced glutathione Chimeric antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with reduced glutathione (GSH) to investigate the exchange of IgG4 half molecules.
  • GSH Sigma- Aldrich, St. Louis, MO
  • IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating an IgG4 antibody mixture consisting of Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (1 ⁇ g) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (1 ⁇ g) in PBS/Azide containing GSH at 37°C. Total incubation volume was 100 ⁇ l resulting in a final concentration of 10 ⁇ g/ml for each antibody. At indicated time points a sample was drawn from the incubation mixture in PBS-AT (PBS supplemented with 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN 3 ). Samples were stored at 4°C for measuring of antigen binding and bispecific activity
  • the concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific antibodies as a standard (range 0-200 ng per test as determined by nephelometer).
  • the concentration of bispecific IgG i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity
  • a sample was incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled cat extract, in which FeI d 1 antigen is present, in a total volume of 300 ⁇ l in PBS-IAT.
  • the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125 I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
  • the concentration of bispecific IgG (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) was calculated using the same calibration curve as used in the Bet v 1 binding test, which was obtained from purified Bet v 1 binding IgG.
  • Example 32 Generation of bispecific IgG in the presence of other agents.
  • IgGl-Betvl and IgGl-FeIdI or IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl were mixed at a final concentration of 10 ⁇ g/ml for antibody and incubated with reducing agents in a total volume of 50 ⁇ l.
  • L-cysteine was from Sigma (100 ⁇ M)
  • DTT dithiothreitol
  • BME ⁇ -mercapto-ethanol
  • GSSG oxidized glutathione
  • Figure 15 shows that the addition of GSH or other reducing agents (but not of GSSG) to a mixture of purified IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl was sufficient to induce Fab arm exchange and the generation of bispecific IgG4. In contrast, no bispecific reactivity was induced in the control IgGl mixture.
  • Example 33 Exchange of fully human IgG4 antibodies using GSH.
  • IgGl-CD20, IgG4-CD20, IgGl-EGFr and IgG4-EGFr were mixed and incubated with GSH in a total volume of 1 ml. Final concentration of each antibody was 50 ⁇ g/ml; the final concentration of GSH was 0.5 mM. The mixtures were incubated at 37°C for 24h and samples were drawn in PBS-AT, in which the (bi)specific IgG concentrations were measured.
  • Bispecific activity was determined using a sandwich ELISA.
  • an ELISA plate (Greiner bio-one, Frickenhausen, Germany) was coated overnight with 1 ⁇ g/ml (lOO ⁇ l/well) of recombinant extracellular domain of EGFR in PBS at 4 0 C. The plate was washed 3 times with PBS/0.05 % Tween 20 (PBT). Samples were diluted in PBT/0.2 % BSA (PBTB) and transferred to the ELISA plate (100 ⁇ l/well). After incubation on a plate shaker (300 rpm) for 90 minutes at room temperature (RT), samples were discarded and the plate was washed 3 times with PBT.
  • PBT PBS/0.05 % Tween 20
  • mice anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody 2F2 SABl.1 (directed against the anti- CD20 antibody 7D8; Genmab) at 2 ⁇ g/ml in PBTB was added and incubated at RT for 90 minutes at a plate shaker (300 rpm).
  • the anti-idiotypic antibody was discarded and the plate was washed 3 times with PBT, followed by the addition of 100 ⁇ l/well of a HRP conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Westgrove, PA, USA) at a 100Ox dilution in PBTB and incubation at RT for 90 minutes at a plate shaker (300 rpm).
  • the detection antibody was discarded and the plate was washed 3 times with PBT.
  • a 50 mg ABTS tablet (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany) was dissolved in ABTS buffer (Roche) and added to the ELISA plate (100 ⁇ l/well).
  • the ELISA plate was incubated for 30 min (or longer if desired) at RT on a plate shaker (300 rpm) covered with aluminum foil and the reaction was stopped with 100 ⁇ l oxalic acid (Riedel de Haen Seelze, Germany) per well.
  • the ELISA plate was left at RT for 10 minutes before reading absorbance at 405 nm in an ELISA plate reader.
  • Figure 16A shows that bispecific anti-EGFR/CD20 antibodies formed in time upon incubation of the mixture of IgG4-EGFr and IgG4-CD20 in the presence, but not in the absence, of GSH.
  • Fab arm exchange did not occur in a mixture of IgGl antibodies, neither in the presence or absence of GSH.
  • Figure 16B shows a clear GSH-dose dependence of IgG4 half molecule exchange.
  • exchange was tested in PBS and serum- and protein free, chemically defined medium (Freestyle 293 expression medium, GIBCO/Invitrogen Corporation). It was found that in this tissue culture medium, GSH-mediated exchange occurs at lower GSH-concentrations ( Figure 16C). It was also found that there is an optimum in GSH-mediated IgG4 half molecule exchange, as incubation with 5 mM GSH clearly resulted in lower exchange that with 0.5 mM ( Figure 16D).
  • IgG4-EGFr and IgG4-CD20 were incubated for 24 h in the absence or presence of GSH and evaluated by mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS).
  • Fifty ⁇ l samples containing 200 ⁇ g/ml of each antibody were deglycosylated overnight with 1 ⁇ l N-glycosidase F (Roche Diagnostics NL BV, Almere, The Netherlands).
  • Samples were desalted on an Acquity UPLCTM (Waters, Milford, USA) with a BEH C8, 1.7 ⁇ m, 2.1x 50 mm column at 60 0 C. Five ⁇ l was injected and eluted with a gradient from 5% to 95% eluent B.
  • Eluent A was MiIIiQ water (Millipore Synthesis AlO apparatus) and eluent B was LC-MS grade acetonitrile (Biosolve, Valkenswaard, The Netherlands). Both eluents contained 0.05% formic acid as organic modifier (Fluka Riedel-de Haen, Buchs, Germany). Time-of-flight electrospray ionization mass spectra were recorded on-line on a micrOTOFTM mass spectrometer (Bruker, Bremen, Germany) operating in the positive ion mode. In each analysis, a 500-5000 m/z scale was internally calibrated with ES tuning mix (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, USA).
  • IgG4-EGFR (145.9 kD) remained unchanged in the absence of GSH.
  • a new peak with a mass corresponding to a Fab arm exchanged molecule appeared (145.7 kD).
  • the novel mass corresponded to the expected mass of the bispecific anti-EGFR/CD20 antibody.
  • the bispecific antibody represented 50% of the total antibody mass in the mixture indicating a random exchange which reached equilibrium within 24 hours.
  • Example 34 Polyclonal immunoglobulins from Rhesus monkey (and other species) participate in Fab arm exchange of recombinant human IgG4 antibodies.
  • IgG4-CD20 and IgG4- EGFr were incubated with GSH for 24h at 37°C, in the presence or absence of purified immunoglobulins from rhesus monkeys (6x), chimpanzees (2x), cynomolgous monkeys, Baboons, horse and swine or human IVIg.
  • the formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA as described above. Additionally, goat, rabbit and sheep immunoglobulins were tested in this assay.
  • Figure 17a shows that rhesus monkey polyclonal immunoglobulins compare to human polyclonal immunoglobulins (IVIg) in their ability to inhibit the exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant antibodies in vitro in the presence of reduced glutathione.
  • IVIg human polyclonal immunoglobulins
  • a component of rhesus immunoglobulin participates in Fab arm exchange.
  • Rhesus immunoglobulin presumably rhesus IgG4, can exchange Fab arm with recombinant human IgG4.
  • Figure 17b shows that polyclonal immunoglobulins from several other rhesus monkeys inhibit the exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant antibodies in vitro in the presence of reduced glutathione with different potencies.
  • FIG. 17c shows that polyclonal immunoglobulins from several other monkey species (baboon, chimpanzee, cynomolgous) as well as immunoglobulins from horse and swine inhibit the exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant antibodies in vitro in the presence of reduced glutathione with different potencies. This means that the component that participates in Fab arm exchange is present in these species at different concentrations. Goat, rabbit and sheep immunoglobulins had no effect on the exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant antibodies in vitro in the presence of reduced glutathione (data not shown).
  • Example 35 Half molecule exchange of hinge region or CH3 domain mutants Three IgGl mutants were made: an IgGl with an IgG4 core-hinge (IgGl-
  • Site directed mutagenesis was used to introduce a P228S mutation in the hinge of IgGl using pEE-Gl-wt a Bet v 1 as a template (228 refers to the EU numbering of antibody amino acid residues. The same position has number 241 in the Kabat numbering, and number 111 in SEQ ID NO: 19 (third position in the CPPC core-hinge sequence)). Mutagenic primers, forward and reverse, were designed with Vector NTI Advance 10:
  • PCR polymerase chain reaction
  • DNA digesting and ligation was used to create CH3 domain swap mutant constructs IgGl-CH3(IgG4) and IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4).
  • Digestion reactions to obtain CH3 domains and vectors without CH3 domains were as follows: ⁇ 1500 ng DNA (pEE-Gl-betvl, pEE-Gl-CPSC and pEE-G4-betvl), 2 ⁇ l BSA, 2 ⁇ l Neb3 buffer, 1 ⁇ l Sail and H 2 O added to a volume of 20 ⁇ l. Incubation at 37°C for 30'.
  • DNA was purified and eluted with 30 ⁇ l H 2 O before 1 ⁇ l SanDI and 3 ⁇ l universal buffer was added and incubated at 37°C for 30'. Fragments were subjected to gel electrophoresis on 1% agarose gels with ethidium bromide. Fragments were cut from the gel under ultraviolet light and dissolved using a DNA purification kit (Amersham).
  • the pEE-G4-wt Sall/SanDI (which contained IgG4 CH3 domain) fragment was ligated into pEE-Gl-wt and pEE-Gl-CPSC using following procedure: 1 ⁇ l template DNA (Sall/SanDI digested pEE-Gl-wt and pEE-Gl-CPSC), 5 ⁇ l Sall/SanDI insert, 4 ⁇ l Ligate-it buffer, 9 ⁇ l H2O and 1 ⁇ l ligase in a total volume of 20 ⁇ l. Ligation was stopped after 5'.
  • IgG4-S228Pnew IgG4-S228Pnew.
  • the hinge is stabilized by replacing serine at position 228 (position 111 in SEQ ID NO: 19) for a proline (IgGl core hinge).
  • Site-directed mutagenesis was performed using the QuickChange II XL Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (Stratagene, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) according to the manufacturer's instructions. This method included the introduction of a silent extra Xmal site to screen for successful mutagenesis.
  • PCR mixtures were stored at 4°C until further processing.
  • PCR mixtures were incubated with 1 ⁇ l Dpnl for 60 min at 37°C to digest the pTomG42F8HG vector and stored at 4°C until further processing.
  • the reaction mixture was precipitated with 5 ⁇ l 3 M NaAc and 125 ⁇ l Ethanol, incubated for 20 minutes at -20 0 C and spun down for 20 minutes at 4°C at 14000xg.
  • the DNA pellet was washed with 70% ethanol, dried and dissolved in 4 ⁇ l water.
  • the total 4 ⁇ l reaction volume was transformed in One Shot DNH5 ⁇ T1 R competent E.
  • coli cells (Invitrogen, Breda, The Netherlands) according to the manufacturer's instructions (Invitrogen). Next, cells were plated on Luria-Bertani (LB) agar plates containing 50 ⁇ g/ml ampicillin. Plates were incubated for 16-18 hours at 37°C until bacterial colonies became evident.
  • LB Luria-Bertani
  • plasmid was isolated from the bacteria and the mutation was confirmed by DNA sequencing. To check if no unwanted extra mutations were introduced the whole HC coding region was sequenced and did not contain any additional mutations. The final construct was named pTomG42F8S228PNew.
  • HEK 293 cells in 3 ml, 6-wells plates (NUNC) or in 125 ml erlenmeyers (Corning) with 293 Fectin (Invitrogen) as transfection reagent.
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4) IgGl CPSC - IgGl CH3(IgG4)
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) IgGl CPSC - IgGl CPSC/CH3(IgG4)
  • IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) IgGl CH3(IgG4) - IgGl CPSC/CH3(IgG4)) - IgGl a-feldl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) with a-betvl IgGl CPSC/CH3(IgG4)
  • Size-exclusion chromatography was performed to exclude the possibility that bispecific activity observed after GSH mediated exchange of the appropriate IgGl mutants was the result of IgG aggregation as described in previous examples.
  • the heterologous FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the fractions corresponding to the retention volume of monomeric IgG.
  • IgG4-like residues were introduced into the CH3 of IgGl at positions that differ between IgGl and IgG4.
  • R238Q, K292R, Q302E or P328L mutations (numbers refer to SEQ ID NO: 19) were introduced in the CH3 domain of IgGl using pEE-Gl-wt a Bet v 1 or pEE-Gl-wt a FeI d 1 as a template, basically as described above.
  • a K292R mutation was also introduced into the CH3 domain of IgGl CPSC using the pEE-Gl-CPSC betvl or pEE-Gl-CPSC feldl as a template.
  • mutagenic primers, forward and reverse were designed with Vector NTI Advance 10.
  • IgGl-CPSC with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CPSC in Fig 19B)
  • IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CH3(G4) in Fig 19B)
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl- CPSC/CH3(G4) in Fig 19B)
  • IgGl a-feldl R238Q with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-R238Q in Fig 19B)
  • IgGl a-feldl K292R with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-K292R in Fig
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC/K292R with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl- CPSC/K292R in Fig 19B)
  • IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4 in Fig 19B)
  • IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl in Fig 19C)
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC (indicated as IgGl-CPSC in Fig 19C)
  • IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl- CH3(G4) in Fig 19C)
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC/CH3(G4) in Fig 19C)
  • IgGl-R238Q with IgGl a-betvl R238Q (indicated as IgGl-R238Q in Fig 19C)
  • IgGl-K292R with IgGl a-betvl K292R (indicated as IgGl-K292R in Fig 19C)
  • IgGl-P328L with IgGl a-betvl P328L (indicated as IgGl-P328L in Fig 19C)
  • IgGl a-feldl CPSC/K292R with IgGl a-betvl CPSC/K292R (indicated as IgGl-
  • IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4 in Fig 19C)
  • Example 36 At 0.5 mM GSH, IgG4 molecules with a stabilized, IgGl-like core-hinge do not participate in Fab-arm exchange reaction of recombinant human IgG4 antibodies.
  • Figure 2OB shows that in the presence of an excess of Tysabri, but not Mylotarg, exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant CD20 and EGFr antibodies was inhibited.
  • Example 37 Half molecule exchange of IgGl-CPSC constructs with additional mutations at position 292
  • IgGl mutants were made in both pConGlf2F8 (specific for EGFR) and pConGlf7D8 (specific for CD20): an IgGl with an IgG4 core- hinge (IgGl-CPSC) and two CH3 domain swap mutants (IgGl-CH3(IgG4) and IgGl- CPSC-CH3(IgG4) (i.e. constructs in which the CH3 region of IgGl was replaced by the CH3 region of IgG4).
  • IgGl-CPSC two CH3 domain swap mutants
  • R238Q, K292R, K292Y, K292F, K292W, Q302E or P328L mutations were introduce in the CH3 domain of both the pGlf- 2F8CPSC and pGlf-7D8CPSC constructs, basically as desribed above.
  • mutagenic primers, forward and reverse were designed with Vector NTI Advance 10.
  • Quickchange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene) was used to create the constructs.
  • Recombinant antibodies from these constructs were transiently expressed in HEK 293 cells in 3 ml, 6-wells plates (NUNC) or in 125 ml erlenmeyers (Corning) with 293 Fectin (Invitrogen) as transfection reagent.
  • the culture supernatants were subsequently dialysed against PBS and concentration was measured by nephelometry (see above).
  • the following mixtures of unpurified buffer exchanged antibodies were incubated with 0.5 GSH at 37°C for 24h and samples were drawn in PBS-AT, in which the (bi)specific IgG concentrations were measured as described in previous examples:
  • IgGl-2F8 wt with IgGl-7D8 wt (indicated as IgGl)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC with IgGl-7D8-CPSC (indicated as IgGl-CPSC)
  • IgGl-2F8-CH3(IgG4) with IgGl-7D8-CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl- CH3(IgG4))
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4))
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-R238Q with IgGl ⁇ 7D8-CPSC-R238Q (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-R238Q)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292R with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292R indicated as IgGl-CPSC-
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292Y with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292Y (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292Y)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292F with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292F (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292F)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292W with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292W (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-K292W)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-Q302E with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-Q302E (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- Q302E)
  • IgGl-2F8-CPSC-P328L with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-P328L (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-
  • IgG4-2F8 wt with IgG4-7D8 wt (indicated as IgG4)
  • Fig. 21 shows that under the tested in vitro conditions (0.5 mM), half molecule exchange occurs when a CPSC hinge is present and an R at position 292. Additionally, the results show that a Y or F at position 292, but not a W, also facilitates half molecule exchange albeit to a lesser extent.
  • An R or Q at position 238, an Q or E at position 302 and a P or L at position 328 do not influence the inability of and IgGl-CPSC to exchange half molecules.
  • Example 38 IgG4 molecules with stabilized CPPC hinge can Fab-arm exchange in vitro (with 5 mM GSH), but not in vivo
  • IgG4-EGFR-CPPC and IgG4-CD20 were incubated for 24 h in the presence of 5 mM GSH and evaluated by mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS).
  • Fifty ⁇ l samples containing 200 ⁇ g/ml of each antibody were deglycosylated overnight with 1 ⁇ l N-glycosidase F (Roche Diagnostics NL BV, Almere, The Netherlands). Samples were desalted on an Acquity UPLCTM (Waters, Milford, USA) with a BEH C8, 1.7 ⁇ m, 2.1x 50 mm column at 60 0 C. Five ⁇ l was injected and eluted with a gradient from 5% to 95% eluent B.
  • Eluent A was MiIIiQ water (Millipore Synthesis AlO apparatus) and eluent B was LC-MS grade acetonitrile (Biosolve, Valkenswaard, The Netherlands). Both eluents contained 0.05% formic acid as organic modifier (Fluka Riedel-de Haen, Buchs, Germany). Time-of-flight electrospray ionization mass spectra were recorded on-line on a micrOTOFTM mass spectrometer (Bruker, Bremen, Germany) operating in the positive ion mode. In each analysis, a 500-5000 m/z scale was internally calibrated with ES tuning mix (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, USA). Mass spectra were deconvoluted by using the Maximum Entropy algorithm, which is provided with DataAnalysisTM software v. 3.3 (Bruker).
  • Figure 22A shows that in the presence of 5 mM GSH a new peak with an intermediate mass corresponding to a Fab-arm exchanged molecule appeared (145.7 kDa).
  • the novel mass corresponded to the expected mass of the bispecific anti- EGFR/CD20 antibody.
  • Fig. 22B shows that bispecific antibodies appeared in the blood of mice injected with mixtures containing wild-type IgG4 molecules (IgG4-EGFR). Bispecific antibodies were undetectable in mixtures containing hinge-stabilized IgG4 (IgG4- EGFR-CPPC) or IgGl molecules (IgGl-EGFR) ((symbols not shown in figure)). This indicates that core-hinge stabilization prevents IgG4 Fab-arm exchange in vivo, , but are not able to exchange half molecules in vivo (although we can not rule out that low-level exchange below the level of detection ( ⁇ 8% in 72 hrs) of hinge-stabilized IgG4 does occur).
  • bispecific antibodies containing stabilized CPPC hinges can be obtained by Fab-arm exchange in vitro. After subsequent specific purification of these bispecific antibodies, these antibodies will remain stable (i.e will not Fab-arm exchange) upon injection in vivo.
  • Example 39 Fab arm exhange of CXXC-mutants The ability to exchange Fab arms of antibodies containing various CXXC- motifs in the core hinge was tested.
  • the following CXXC-motifs were introduced into IgG4 bet v 1 and IgG4 feld 1, using site directed mutagenesis techniques as described above: - CGHC (active site sequence described for protein-disulphide-isomerase, PDI)
  • CGC peptide described to have disulfide reduction potential
  • CPRC core-hinge sequence of Gorilla IgG4
  • CPHC active site sequence described for human thioredoxin
  • IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt indicated as IgGl in Fig 23 and 24
  • IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4 in Fig 23 and 24)
  • IgG4 a-feldl CGHC with IgG4 a-betvl CGHC (indicated as CGHC in Fig 23 and
  • IgG4 a-feldl CPRC with IgG4 a-betvl CPRC (indicated as CPRC in Fig 23 and 24)
  • IgG4 a-feldl CPHC with IgG4 a-betvl CPHC (indicated as CPHC in Fig 23 and

Landscapes

  • Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Organic Chemistry (AREA)
  • Immunology (AREA)
  • General Health & Medical Sciences (AREA)
  • Medicinal Chemistry (AREA)
  • Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
  • Biochemistry (AREA)
  • Proteomics, Peptides & Aminoacids (AREA)
  • Molecular Biology (AREA)
  • Genetics & Genomics (AREA)
  • Biophysics (AREA)
  • Pharmacology & Pharmacy (AREA)
  • Public Health (AREA)
  • Veterinary Medicine (AREA)
  • Animal Behavior & Ethology (AREA)
  • General Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
  • Chemical Kinetics & Catalysis (AREA)
  • Nuclear Medicine, Radiotherapy & Molecular Imaging (AREA)
  • Communicable Diseases (AREA)
  • Oncology (AREA)
  • Peptides Or Proteins (AREA)
  • Medicines Containing Antibodies Or Antigens For Use As Internal Diagnostic Agents (AREA)
  • Preparation Of Compounds By Using Micro-Organisms (AREA)

Abstract

The invention relates to an ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, c) incubating said first and second antibodies together under reducing conditions which allow the cysteines in the core hinge region to undergo disulfidebond isomerization, and d) obtaining a bispecific antibody. The invention furthermore relates to bispecific antibodies obtainable by the method of the invention.

Description

BISPECIFIC ANTIBODIES AND METHODS FOR PRODUCTION THEREOF
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to novel methods for the production of bispecific antibodies and to bispecific antibodies obtainable by these methods.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Human immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies exist in four subclasses with distinct structural and functional properties. IgGs are composed of two heavy chain- light chains pairs (half-molecules), which are connected via inter-heavy chain disulfide bonds situated in the hinge region. Human IgG4 molecules exist in various molecular forms which differ by the absence or presence of the inter-heavy chain disulfide bonds located in the hinge region. IgG4 molecules exist in forms in which either both or none of the inter-heavy chain disulfide bonds have been formed (6, 7). However, irrespective of the absence or presence of these inter-chain disulfide bonds (6, 8), human IgG4s exist as tetramers in solution consisting of two Ig heavy and two light chains, as common for immunoglobulin G molecules, due to relatively strong non-covalent interactions between the CH3-domains and between the CHl and CH2 domains (4). Only upon denaturation under non-reducing conditions, the two non-covalently associated half molecules dissociate as demonstrated by size- determination analysis such as SDS-PAGE (6, 9). It has been known for several years that human IgG4 antibodies, unlike other
IgG subclasses, behave as monovalent molecules in interactions with antigen. It was found that serum-derived human IgG4 cannot precipitate purified antigen, because it cannot crosslink. While such serum-derived IgG4 is functionally monovalent (1, 2), recombinantly produced IgG4, in contrast, is behaving bivalently in interactions with antigens (3). On the basis of these observations, it has been proposed that IgG4 molecules in serum can exchange half-molecules (i.e. a molecule consisting of one heavy chain and one light chain), resulting in the generation of bispecific molecules, which cannot crosslink identical antigens (3-5). This process of half-molecule exchange is also termed "Fab-arm exchange" herein. Bispecific antibodies have interesting potential as therapeutic drugs, since they can be used, for example, as mediators to retarget effector mechanisms to disease-associated sites. However, one of the major obstacles in the development of bispecific antibodies has been the difficulty of producing the materials in sufficient quality and quantity by traditional technologies, such as the hybrid hybridoma and chemical conjugation methods (10).
WO 2005/062916 describes methods for the formation of multimeric molecules on the basis of IgG4 in vivo in mice. Furthermore, WO 2005/062916 describes that co-incubation of two IgG4 antibodies having different antigen-binding specificities in vitro in a saline buffer leads to the formation of products that are capable of reacting with both antigens. However, it has not been demonstrated in WO 2005/062916 whether these products are aggregates or bispecific antibodies, and the yield of the reaction was low under the conditions used.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It has now surprisingly been found that under reducing conditions, two IgG4- or IgG4-like antibodies having different antigen-binding specificities can perform highly efficient half-molecule exchange and thus form bispecific antibodies without concomitant formation of aggregates. Accordingly, in a first main aspect, the invention relates to an ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises an
IgG4-like CH3 region, c) incubating said first and second antibodies together under reducing conditions which allow the cysteines in the core hinge region to undergo disulfide- bond isomerization, and d) obtaining a bispecific antibody.
Without being bound by any specific theory, it is believed that two regions of an antibody have an important impact on its ability to undergo half-molecule exchange. Firstly, the ability for half-molecule exchange may be influenced by sequence differences in the core-hinge region of the molecule, since antibodies having a CPSC sequence in the core hinge region, such as IgG4, exchange more readily than antibodies having a CPPC core hinge sequence, such as IgGl. Without being bound by any theory, it is hypothesized that the CPSC sequence results in a more flexible core-hinge and the possibility to form intra-chain disulfide bonds. Remarkably, the structure of the core hinge is similar to the active domain of protein-disulfide- isomerase (PDI), CXXC. These CXXC motifs of different isoforms of PDI catalyze the formation, reduction and rearrangement of disulfide bonds in proteins. Thus, without being bound by any specific theory, it is believed that antibodies having an IgG4-like core hinge sequence may have an intrinsic activity for rearrangement of disulfide bonds, which is stimulated by the conditions used in the methods of the invention.
Secondly, again without being bound by any theory, the results show that to allow the exchange reaction to take place, the sequence of the CH3 region should be IgG4-like, i.e. such that it does not form strong inter-half-molecule interactions.
In another main aspect, the invention relates to an isolated bispecific antibody obtained or obtainable by the method of the invention and to a pharmaceutical composition comprising such an antibody.
In a further aspect, the invention relates to an isolated bispecific antibody comprising two IgG4-like CH3 regions and to a pharmaceutical composition comprising such an antibody.
In an even further aspect, the invention relates to a method for the selection of a bispecific antibody having a desired property, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a set of antibodies, wherein each antibody has a different target specificity and wherein each antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) incubating each antibody of said set of antibodies with another antibody of said set under reducing conditions, thus generating a set of antibody mixtures, wherein each mixture contains a different bispecific antibody, c) assaying the resulting set of antibody mixtures for a given desired property, and d) selecting a bispecific antibody mixture having the desired property.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
Figure 1. SDS-Page analysis of purified recombinant IgGl and IgG4. After purification, the Betvl and FeIdI, IgGl and IgG4 antibodies were analyzed on non-reducing SDS-PAGE.
Figure 2. Bispecific IgG levels in nu/nu Balb/c mice at different time points. The amount of bispecific IgG as determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay was plotted versus the amount of Bet v 1 specific IgG as determined in the Bet v l binding test. Data from IgGl and IgG4 containing plasma samples are represented by open symbols and closed symbols, respectively. The dashed line represents the calculated amount of bispecific IgG, if the exchange of IgG half molecules is random and complete.
Figure 3. Bispecific human IgG4 molecules are generated in vivo. (A) Groups (n = 5) of SCID mice were injected with chimeric antibody mixtures: 100 μg IgGl-Betvl/100 μg IgGl-FeIdI (squares), 100 μg IgG4-Betvl/100 μg IgG4-Feldl (circles), or 3) 100 μg IgG4-Betvl/100 μg IgG4-Feldl + 2,000 μg irrelevant recombinant IgG4 (IgG4-EGFR; triangles). Generation of bispecific antibodies was followed in time by assessing the bispecific activity to Bet v 1 and FeI d 1 in plasma. The fraction of bispecific IgG relative to the total IgG-Bet v 1 concentration was expressed as percentage. The arrow with asterisk indicates the bispecific reactivity level expected in mice receiving IgG4-Betvl/IgG4-Feldl in the presence of excess irrelevant IgG4 (4%), the arrow without asterisk that in mice receiving IgG4-Betvl/ IgG4-Feldl mixture (50%). Error bars represent SEM. (B) Monospecific cross-linking activity was tested by assessing cross-linking of radiolabeled FeI d 1 to FeI d 1- coupled Sepharose in mouse plasma. Monospecific reactivity was expressed as the ratio between the amount of radiolabeled FeI d 1 bound by cross-linking and total IgG-FeIdI in order to correct for the clearance of IgG. Error bars represent SEM. Figure 4. SEC analysis of bispecific activity in murine plasma. Plasma (10 μl) drawn at t=24h from a mouse dosed with an IgG4 mix was fractionated on a Superdex200 column. The mouse was dosed with a mix containing 300 μg of Bet v 1 binding IgG4 and 300 μg of FeI d 1 binding IgG4. In the fractions the concentration of FeI d 1 specific IgG (■) was measured in the antigen binding test and the concentration of bispecific IgG Bet v 1-FeI d 1 (•) was determined in the Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking assay. Calibration of this column using IVIg has revealed that monomeric, dimeric and aggregated IgG elute at 12.9, 11.0 and 8.4 ml, respectively (data not shown).
Figure 5. Exchange of IgG in whole blood components
Exchange of IgG4 and IgGl was evaluated by incubating chimeric IgG mixtures in whole blood, blood cells, plasma and serum for 24h at 37°C, after which bispecific activity in the heterologous cross-linking assay (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) was measured. Blood was obtained from two donors: A (black bars) and B (grey bars). Bispecific activities were determined in mixtures supplemented with chimeric IgG4 (panel A), chimeric IgGl (panel B) or without the addition of IgG (panel C). All presented data were measured after 24h of incubation at 37°C. Figure 6. Exchange of IgG by human blood cells
Exchange of IgG4 (black bars) and IgGl (grey bars) was evaluated by incubating chimeric IgG mixtures with mononuclear cells (MNC), thrombocytes (Thr) and erythrocytes (Ery) for 48h at 37°C, after which bispecific activity in the heterologous cross-linking assay (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) was measured. As a control the antibody mixtures were also incubated in serum free culture medium (SFC). Bispecificity is expressed as percentage 125I-Bet v 1 bound relative to amount added. Figure 7. Exchange of IgG4 by HEK and murine cell lines Exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating a chimeric IgG4 mixture with HEK cells, murine B cells (J558) or hybridoma cells at 37°C. Bispecific activity in the heterologous cross-linking assay (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) was measured in samples of 1 μl drawn at t=Oh (grey bars) and at t=24h (black bars). Bispecificity is expressed as percentage 125I-Bet v 1 bound relative to amount added.
Figure 8. Erythrocyte- mediated exchange of IgG4 Incubation of IgG4-Betvl/IgG4-Feldl mixtures with freshly purified erythrocytes (ery, closed symbols) resulted in the generation of bispecific antibodies, whereas no bispecificity was observed for the mixture of the IgGl isotypes. As control, antibody mixtures were incubated in PBS without erythrocytes (open symbols). The arrow indicates the maximal expected percentage of bispecific IgG (50%). Error bars represent range of duplicate measurements. Figure 9. Exchange of IgG4 in PBS
Exchange in PBS of IgGl (white bars), IgG4 (grey bars) and IgG4 in the presence of excess irrelevant IgG4 (black bars) was evaluated by measuring bispecific activity (panel A), bivalency and antigen binding. The exchange of IgG half molecules in panel A was calculated from the concentration of bispecific IgG (as determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay) and the maximal expected concentration of bispecific IgG if the exchange of IgG half molecules is random and complete. The exchange was expressed as percentage of the maximal exchange, being 100%. In panel B FeI d 1 bivalency in time is depicted, which was measured in the homologous cross-linking assay. The concentration of bivalent IgG was normalized by setting the concentration of bivalent IgG at t=0 at 100%.
Figure 10. Exchange of IgG4 by erythrocyte lysate
Exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating a chimeric IgG4 mixture in lysate from erythrocytes at 370C. IgG4 was incubated with increasing dilutions of lysate. Bispecific activity in the heterologous cross-linking assay (Bet v 1- FeI d 1) was measured in samples drawn at indicated time points. Bispecificity is expressed as percentage 125I-Bet v 1 bound relative to amount added.
Figure 11. SEC analysis of bispecific activity induced by erythrocyte lysate IgG4 was incubated with freshly prepared erythrocyte lysate at 37°C for 24h and subsequently fractionated on a Superdex200 column, which was run at 0.5 ml/min on an AKTA HPLC unit (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden). In the fractions the concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG (■) was measured in the antigen binding test and the concentration of bispecific IgG FeI d 1-Bet v 1 (•) was determined in the Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking assay. Calibration of this column has revealed that monomeric, dimeric and aggregated IgG elute at 12.1, 10.3 and 8.3 ml, respectively (data not shown).
Figure 12. GSH mediated exchange of IgG4
GSH mediated exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating IgG4 in the presence of increasing concentrations of GSH in PBS/Azide. At indicated time points samples were drawn in which antigen binding and bispecific activity was measured. The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was calculated from the measured concentration of bispecific IgG (as determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay) and the maximal expected concentration of bispecific IgG4 if the exchange of IgG4 half molecules is random and complete. The exchange was expressed as percentage of the maximal exchange, set at 100%.
Figure 13. SEC of GSH mediated exchange of IgG4 half molecules IgG4 was incubated with GSH (0.5 mM) and subsequently fractionated on a Superdex200 column, which was run at 0.5 ml/min on an AKTA HPLC unit (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden). In the fractions the concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG (■) was measured in the antigen binding test and the concentration of bispecific IgG FeI d 1-Bet v 1 (•) was determined in the Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross- linking assay. Calibration of this column has revealed that monomeric, dimeric and aggregated IgG elute at 12.1, 10.3 and 8.3 ml, respectively (data not shown). Figure 14. Temperature dependence of GSH mediated exchange of
IgG4. IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl mixtures were incubated in PBS with GSH at indicated temperatures. At t=Oh (grey bars) and t=24h (black bars) concentrations of bispecific IgG4 were assessed. From these data the fraction of bispecific IgG relative to the IgG4 Betvl concentration was calculated and expressed as percentage. Error bars represent range of duplicate measurements. Figure 15. IgG4 exchange mediated by a panel of reducing agents.
IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl in PBS were incubated in the presence of different agents (all reducing, except GSSG) for 24h at 37°C. The concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG was measured in the Bet v 1 binding assay and the concentration of bispecific IgG was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay (FeI d 1-Bet v 1). The percentage of bispecific IgG relative to the IgG-Betvl concentration was calculated. Standard error bars represent SEM calculated from three measurements. Figure 16. Exchange of fully human IgG4 antibodies using GSH.
(A) IgG4-CD20/IgG4-EGFr or IgGl-CD20/IgGl-EGFr mixtures were incubated at 37°C with or without 0.5 mM GSH. Samples were taken at indicated time points.
The formation of bispecific antibodies was measured in a sandwich ELISA. Y-axis indicates the optical density at 405 nm as a measurement of the formation of bispecific CD20/EGFR antibodies.
(B) GSH-dose dependent exchange of IgG4. A mixture of IgG4-CD20 and IgG4-EGFr was incubated for 24 h at 37°C with concentrations of GSH as indicated.
The formation of bispecific antibodies was measured in a sandwich ELISA. The optical density at 405 nm is plotted on the Y-axis as a measurement of the formation of bispecific CD20/EGFR antibodies.
(C) GSH-mediated exchange of IgG4 half molecules is influenced by the components used in the reaction, and occurs in culture medium (Freestyle 293) at lower GSH concentrations.
(D) GSH-mediated exchange of IgG4 half molecules is higher at 0.5 mM GSH than at 5 mM GSH.
(E/F) Detection of Fab arm exchange between IgG4-EGFR and IgG4-CD20 by ESI-TOF mass spectrometry. An IgG4 mixture was incubated for 24 hours in the absence (E) or presence (F) of 0.5 mM GSH, after which the antibodies were deglycosylated with PNGase F and the molecular weights of the resulting antibodies were determined by ESI-TOF mass spectrometry. Shown are the deconvoluted ESI- TOF spectra. Data are representative of 2 experiments. Figure 17. Rhesus monkey IVIg participates in Fab arm exchange of recombinant human IgG4 antibodies.
A) Mixtures of two recombinant human IgG4 antibodies (IgG4-CD20 and IgG4-EGFr) were incubated with GSH for 24h at 37°C, in the presence or absence of purified rhesus monkey immunoglobulins or human IVIg. The formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA. B) Mixtures of two recombinant human IgG4 antibodies (IgG4-CD20 and IgG4-EGFr) were incubated with GSH for 24h at 37°C, in the presence or absence of an excess (indicated in parentheses) of purified rhesus monkey immunoglobulins from several animals (source also indicated in parentheses) or human IVIg. The formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA.
C) Mixtures of two recombinant human IgG4 antibodies (IgG4-CD20 and IgG4-EGFr) were incubated with GSH for 24h at 37°C, in the presence or absence of an excess (indicated in parentheses) of purified chimpanzee, baboon, cynomolgous monkey, horse and swine immunoglobulins (source also indicated in parentheses) or human IVIg. The formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELJSA.
Figure 18. Constant region sequences Underlined sequences represent the CH3 region. Figure 19. GSH mediated half molecule exchange of IgGl mutants
(A) The effect of GSH concentration on the half molecule exchange from different IgGl mutants was tested using 0, 0.1, 1 and 10 mM GSH. Exchange was tested using the following mixtures:
- IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4 wt in the figure) - IgGl a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl wt)
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC (indicates as IgGl-CPSC)
- IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl- CH3 (IgG4))
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with a-betvl IgGl CPSC-CH3(IgG4)) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4))
(B) The effect of GSH concentration on the half molecule exchange from different IgGl mutants with IgG4 wt molecules was tested using 0.5 and 5 mM GSH. Exchange was tested using the following mixtures:
- IgGl a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl) - IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CPSC)
- IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CH3(IgG4))
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- CH3(G4))
- IgGl a-feldl R238Q with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-R238Q) - IgGl a-feldl K292R with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-K292R) - IgGl a-feldl Q302E with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-Q302E)
- IgGl a-feldl P328L with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-P328L)
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC-K292R with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292R) - IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4)
(C) The effect of GSH concentration on the half molecule exchange from different IgGl mutants was tested using 0.5 and 5 mM GSH. Exchange was tested using the following mixtures:
- IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl) - IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC (indicated as IgGl-CPSC)
- IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl- CH3(IgG4))
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CPSC-CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4)) - IgGl a-feldl R238Q with IgGl a-betvl R238Q (indicated as IgGl-R238Q)
- IgGl a-feldl K292R with IgGl a-betvl K292R (indicated as IgGl-K292R)
- IgGl a-feldl Q302E with IgGl a-betvl Q302E (indicated as IgGl-Q302E)
- IgGl a-feldl P328L with IgGl a-betvl P328L (indicated as IgGl-P328L)
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC-K292R with IgGl a-betvl CPSC-K292R (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-K292R)
- IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4)
Figure 20. At 0.5 mM GSH, IgG4 molecules with a wild-type (IgG4) core hinge participate in Fab arm exchange of recombinant human IgG4 antibodies, whereas molecules with a IgGl core hinge do not. (A) Mixtures of two recombinant human IgG4 antibodies (IgG4-CD20 and IgG4-EGFr, as described above) were incubated with 0.5 mM GSH for 24h at 37°C, in the presence or absence of an excess (50 and 100 micrograms/ml) of Tysabri. The formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA. (B) Mixtures of two recombinant human IgG4 antibodies (IgG4-CD20 and IgG4-EGFr, as described above) were incubated with 0.5 mM GSH for 24h at 37°C, in the presence or absence of equimolar amounts (10 micrograms/ml) of Tysabri or Mylotarg. The formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA
Figure 21. Half molecule exchange of IgGl-CPSC constructs with additional mutations at position 292. Half molecule exchange from different IgGl mutants was tested using 0.5 mM GSH. Exchange was tested using the following mixtures:
- IgGl-2F8 wt with IgGl-7D8 wt (indicated as IgGl)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC with IgGl-7D8-CPSC (indicated as IgGl-CPSC) - IgGl-2F8-CH3(IgG4) with IgGl-7D8-CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl-
CH3(IgG4))
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4))
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-R238Q with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-R238Q (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-R238Q)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292R with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292R (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292R)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292Y with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292Y (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292Y) - IgG 1-2F8-CPSC-K292F with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292F (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-
K292F)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292W with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292W (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-K292W)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-Q302E with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-Q302E (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- Q302E)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-P328L with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-P328L (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- P328L)
- IgG4-2F8 wt with IgG4-7D8 wt (indicated as IgG4)
The formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA.
Figure 22. Core-hinge stabilization protects IgG4 antibody therapeutics from Fab-arm exchange in vivo. (A) Detection of Fab-arm exchange between IgG4-EGFR-CPPC and IgG4-CD20 by ESI-TOF mass spectrometry. An IgG4- EGFR-CPPC/ IgG4-CD20 mixture was incubated for 24 hours in the presence (F) of 5 mM GSH, after which the antibodies were deglycosylated with PNGase F and the molecular weights of the resulting antibodies were determined by ESI-TOF mass spectrometry. Shown are the deconvoluted ESI-TOF spectra. Bispecific EGFR/CD20 antibodies could be detected when 5 mM GSH was used (incubation without GSH or in the presence of 0.5 mM GSH did not result in bispecific antibodies (data not shown)). (B) Groups (n=4) of SCID mice were injected with antibody mixtures (300 μg of each) of IgG4-CD20/IgG4-EGFR (open circles), IgG4-CD20/IgGl-EGFR and IgG4- CD20/IgG4-EGFR-CPPC. The generation of bispecific antibodies was followed over time and quantified by ELISA. Bispecific antibodies were quantified using an in vitro exchanged antibody mixture as reference. Data points represent mean ± SEM values of four mice, measured at least twice in separate experiments. No bispecific antibodies could be detected in the IgG4-CD20/IgGl-EGFR and IgG4-CD20/IgG4- EGFR-CPPC mixtures. The detection limit of the assays is indicated (dotted line) and represents serum levels of 2000 ng/ml. Figure 23: Fab arm exchange of CXXC-mutants over time.
Mixtures of CXXC-mutant antibodies were incubated at 37°C with 0.5 mM GSH. Samples were taken at indicated time points. The formation of bispecific antibodies was measured. Exchange was tested using the following mixtures:
- IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl) - IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4)
- IgG4 a-feldl CGHC with IgG4 a-betvl CGHC (indicated as CGHC)
- IgG4 a-feldl CGC with IgG4 a-betvl CGC (indicated as CGC)
- IgG4 a-feldl CPRC with IgG4 a-betvl CPRC (indicated as CPRC)
- IgG4 a-feldl CPHC with IgG4 a-betvl CPHC (indicated as CPHC) Figure 24: GSH mediated Fab arm exchange of CXXC-mutants
The effect of GSH concentration on the Fab arm exchange from CXXC- mutants was tested using 1 to 20,000 μM GSH. Exchange was tested using the following mixtures:
- IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl) - IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4)
- IgG4 a-feldl CGHC with IgG4 a-betvl CGHC (indicated as CGHC)
- IgG4 a-feldl CGC with IgG4 a-betvl CGC (indicated as CGC)
- IgG4 a-feldl CPRC with IgG4 a-betvl CPRC (indicated as CPRC)
- IgG4 a-feldl CPHC with IgG4 a-betvl CPHC (indicated as CPHC)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Definitions
The term "immunoglobulin" refers to a class of structurally related glycoproteins consisting of two pairs of polypeptide chains, one pair of light (L) low molecular weight chains and one pair of heavy (H) chains, all four inter-connected by disulfide bonds. The structure of immunoglobulins has been well characterized. See for instance Fundamental Immunology Ch. 7 (Paul, W., ed., 2nd ed. Raven Press, N. Y. (1989)) (11). Briefly, each heavy chain typically is comprised of a heavy chain variable region (abbreviated herein as VH or VH) and a heavy chain constant region. The heavy chain constant region typically is comprised of three domains, CHl, CH2, and CH3. Each light chain typically is comprised of a light chain variable region (abbreviated herein as VL or VL) and a light chain constant region. The light chain constant region typically is comprised of one domain, CL. The VH and VL regions may be further subdivided into regions of hypervariability (or hypervariable regions which may be hypervariable in sequence and/or form of structurally defined loops), also termed complementarity determining regions (CDRs), interspersed with regions that are more conserved, termed framework regions (FRs). Each VH and VL is typically composed of three CDRs and four FRs, arranged from amino-terminus to carboxy- terminus in the following order: FRl, CDRl, FR2, CDR2, FR3, CDR3, FR4 (see also (12)). Typically, the numbering of amino acid residues in this region is performed by the method described in Kabat (13). Using this numbering system, the actual linear amino acid sequence of a peptide may contain fewer or additional amino acids corresponding to a shortening of, or insertion into, a FR or CDR of the variable domain. For example, a heavy chain variable domain may include a single amino acid insert (residue 52a according to Kabat) after residue 52 of VH CDR2 and inserted residues (for instance residues 82a, 82b, and 82c, etc. according to Kabat) after heavy chain FR residue 82. The Kabat numbering of residues may be determined for a given antibody by alignment at regions of homology of the sequence of the antibody with a "standard" Kabat numbered sequence.
The term "antibody" (Ab) in the context of the present invention refers to an immunoglobulin molecule, a fragment of an immunoglobulin molecule, or a derivative of either thereof, which has the ability to specifically bind to an antigen under typical physiological conditions with a half life of significant periods of time, such as at least about 30 minutes, at least about 45 minutes, at least about one hour, at least about two hours, at least about four hours, at least about 8 hours, at least about 12 hours, about 24 hours or more, about 48 hours or more, about 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or more days, etc., or any other relevant functionally-defined period (such as a time sufficient to induce, promote, enhance, and/or modulate a physiological response associated with antibody binding to the antigen and/or time sufficient for the antibody to recruit an Fc-mediated effector activity). The variable regions of the heavy and light chains of the immunoglobulin molecule contain a binding domain that interacts with an antigen. The constant regions of the antibodies (Abs) may mediate the binding of the immunoglobulin to host tissues or factors, including various cells of the immune system (such as effector cells) and components of the complement system such as CIq, the first component in the classical pathway of complement activation. As indicated above, the term antibody herein, unless otherwise stated or clearly contradicted by context, includes fragments of an antibody that comprise a mutated or wildtype core hinge region and retain the ability to specifically bind to the antigen.
It has been shown that the antigen-binding function of an antibody may be performed by fragments of a full-length antibody. Examples of binding fragments encompassed within the term "antibody" include, e.g. F(ab')2 fragments, which are bivalent fragments comprising two Fab fragments linked by a disulfide bridge at the hinge region. Although such fragments are generally included within the meaning of antibody, they collectively and each independently are unique features of the present invention, exhibiting different biological properties and utility. It also should be understood that the term antibody, unless specified otherwise, also includes polyclonal antibodies, monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), antibody-like polypeptides, such as chimeric antibodies and humanized antibodies, and antibody fragments retaining the ability to specifically bind to the antigen (antigen-binding fragments) provided by any known technique, such as enzymatic cleavage, peptide synthesis, and recombinant techniques. An antibody as generated can possess any isotype.
The term "human antibody", as used herein, is intended to include antibodies having variable and constant regions derived from human germline immunoglobulin sequences. The human antibodies of the invention may include amino acid residues not encoded by human germline immunoglobulin sequences (e.g., mutations introduced by random or site-specific mutagenesis in vitro or by somatic mutation in vivo). However, the term "human antibody", as used herein, is not intended to include antibodies in which CDR sequences derived from the germline of another mammalian species, such as a mouse, have been grafted onto human framework sequences.
An "isolated antibody," as used herein, is intended to refer to an antibody which is substantially free of other antibodies having different antigenic specificities. An isolated antibody that specifically binds to an epitope, isoform or variant of a particular human target antigen may, however, have cross-reactivity to other related antigens, for instance from other species (such as species homologs). Moreover, an isolated antibody may be substantially free of other cellular material and/or chemicals. In one embodiment of the present invention, a combination of "isolated" monoclonal antibodies having different specificities are combined in a well-defined composition. The terms "monoclonal antibody" or "monoclonal antibody composition" as used herein refer to a preparation of antibody molecules of single molecular composition. A monoclonal antibody composition displays a single binding specificity and affinity for a particular epitope. Accordingly, the term "human monoclonal antibody" refers to antibodies displaying a single binding specificity which have variable and constant regions derived from human germline immunoglobulin sequences. The human monoclonal antibodies may be generated by a hybridoma which includes a B cell obtained from a transgenic or transchromosomal nonhuman animal, such as a transgenic mouse, having a genome comprising a human heavy chain transgene and a light chain transgene, fused to an immortalized cell. As used herein, the term "binding" in the context of the binding of an antibody to a predetermined antigen typically is a binding with an affinity corresponding to a KD of about 10~7 M or less, such as about 10"8 M or less, such as about 10~9 M or less, about 10 10 M or less, or about 10 u M or even less when determined by for instance surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technology in a BIAcore 3000 instrument using the antigen as the ligand and the antibody as the analyte, and binds to the predetermined antigen with an affinity corresponding to a KD that is at least ten-fold lower, such as at least 100 fold lower, for instance at least 1000 fold lower, such as at least 10,000 fold lower, for instance at least 100,000 fold lower than its affinity for binding to a non-specific antigen (e.g., BSA, casein) other than the predetermined antigen or a closely-related antigen. The amount with which the affinity is lower is dependent on the KD of the antibody, so that when the KD of the antibody is very low (that is, the antibody is highly specific), then the amount with which the affinity for the antigen is lower than the affinity for a non-specific antigen may be at least 10,000 fold. The term "kd" (sec 1), as used herein, refers to the dissociation rate constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction. Said value is also referred to as the koff value.
The term "ka" (M"1 x sec"1), as used herein, refers to the association rate constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction. The term "KD" (M), as used herein, refers to the dissociation equilibrium constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction.
The term "KA" (M"1), as used herein, refers to the association equilibrium constant of a particular antibody-antigen interaction and is obtained by dividing the ka by the kd.
As used herein, "isotype" refers to the immunoglobulin class (for instance IgGl, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgD, IgA, IgE, or IgM) that is encoded by heavy chain constant region genes.
The term "epitope" means a protein determinant capable of specific binding to an antibody. Epitopes usually consist of surface groupings of molecules such as amino acids or sugar side chains and usually have specific three dimensional structural characteristics, as well as specific charge characteristics. Conformational and nonconformational epitopes are distinguished in that the binding to the former but not the latter is lost in the presence of denaturing solvents. The epitope may comprise amino acid residues directly involved in the binding (also called immunodominant component of the epitope) and other amino acid residues, which are not directly involved in the binding, such as amino acid residues which are effectively blocked by the specifically antigen binding peptide (in other words, the amino acid residue is within the footprint of the specifically antigen binding peptide). As used herein, a human antibody is "derived from" a particular germline sequence if the antibody is obtained from a system using human immunoglobulin sequences, for instance by immunizing a transgenic mouse carrying human immunoglobulin genes or by screening a human immunoglobulin gene library, and wherein the selected human antibody is at least 90%, such as at least 95%, for instance at least 96%, such as at least 97%, for instance at least 98%, or such as at least 99% identical in amino acid sequence to the amino acid sequence encoded by the germline immunoglobulin gene. Typically, outside the heavy chain CDR3, a human antibody derived from a particular human germline sequence will display no more than 20 amino acid differences, e.g. no more than 10 amino acid differences, such as no more than 5, for instance no more than 4, 3, 2, or 1 amino acid difference from the amino acid sequence encoded by the germline immunoglobulin gene.
The term "bispecific antibody" is intended to include any antibody, which has two different binding specificities, i.e. the antibody binds two different epitopes, which may be located on the same target antigen or, more commonly, on different target antigens.
As used herein, the term "effector cell" refers to an immune cell which is involved in the effector phase of an immune response, as opposed to the cognitive and activation phases of an immune response. Exemplary immune cells include a cell of a myeloid or lymphoid origin, for instance lymphocytes (such as B cells and T cells including cytolytic T cells (CTLs)), killer cells, natural killer cells, macrophages, monocytes, eosinophils, polymorphonuclear cells, such as neutrophils, granulocytes, mast cells, and basophils. Some effector cells express specific Fc receptors and carry out specific immune functions. In some embodiments, an effector cell is capable of inducing antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), such as a natural killer cell, capable of inducing ADCC. For example, monocytes, macrophages, which express FcR are involved in specific killing of target cells and presenting antigens to other components of the immune system, or binding to cells that present antigens. In some embodiments, an effector cell may phagocytose a target antigen or target cell. The expression of a particular FcR on an effector cell may be regulated by humoral factors such as cytokines. For example, expression of FcγRI has been found to be up-regulated by interferon y (IFN-γ) and/or G-CSF. This enhanced expression increases the cytotoxic activity of FcyRI-bearing cells against targets. An effector cell can phagocytose or lyse a target antigen or a target cell.
"Treatment" refers to the administration of an effective amount of a therapeutically active compound of the present invention with the purpose of easing, ameliorating, arresting or eradicating (curing) symptoms or disease states.
An "effective amount" refers to an amount effective, at dosages and for periods of time necessary, to achieve a desired therapeutic result. A therapeutically effective amount of an antibody may vary according to factors such as the disease state, age, sex, and weight of the individual, and the ability of the antibody to elicit a desired response in the individual. A therapeutically effective amount is also one in which any toxic or detrimental effects of the antibody or antibody portion are outweighed by the therapeutically beneficial effects.
The term "IgG4-like core hinge region" refers to a core hinge region in which the cysteine residues are significantly more susceptible to reduction and/or disulfide bond isomerization than other cysteines/disulfide bridges in the antibody molecule. Thus, for antibodies having an IgG4-like core hinge region, reducing conditions can be found under which the cysteine residues/disulfide bridges in the core region can be reduced and subsequently form a disulfide bridge with core hinge cysteines in another half-molecule, while keeping other disulfide bridges in the antibody and the general antibody structure intact. For example, an IgG4-like core hinge region may be an IgG4 core hinge region or a core hinge sequence of an antibody of another isotype in which one of the prolines of the CPPC sequence in the core region has been mutated, e.g. to a serine, such as a mutation of CPPC to CPSC.
The term "IgG4-like CH3 region" in the context of the present application refers to a CH3 region which is identical to the CH3 of IgG4, e.g. human IgG4, or a CH3 region which is functionally equivalent to a IgG4 CH3 region. Functionally equivalent, in this context, means that the CH3 region, similar to the CH3 region of IgG4, does not form stable inter-half-molecule interactions. The formation of stable inter-half-molecules by a given CH3 region can e.g. be tested by replacing the CH3 of an IgG4 with that CH3 region and test for exchange under the conditions given in Examples 31 or 32. If exchange is observed, then no stable inter-half-molecule interactions are formed. For example, an IgG4-like CH3 region may be a CH3 region which is equally efficient in allowing half-molecule exchange as a CH3 region from IgG4. Accordingly, an IgG4-like CH3 region may be structurally similar to the CH3 region of IgG4, e.g. more than 75%, such as more than 90% identical to the sequence of the CH3 region of IgG4. However, an IgG4-like CH3 region in the present context may in addition or alternatively be a CH3 region which structurally is not close to the CH3 region of IgG4, but has similar functional characteristics in that it does not comprise any amino acid residues which participate in the formation of disulfide bonds or covalent or stable non-covalent inter-heavy chain bonds, such as salt bridges, with other peptides comprising an identical amino acid sequence of the CH3 region. For example, an IgG4-like CH3 region can be a mutated IgGl CH3 region in which one or more amino acid residues that are involved in inter-half- molecule CH3-CH3 interactions have been changed or deleted.
The term "reducing conditions" or "reducing environment" refers to a condition or an environment in which a substrate, here a cysteine residue in the core-region of an antibody, is more likely to become reduced than oxidized.
The term "reducing agent" refers to a compound which reduces molecules in its environment, i.e., which changes molecules in its environment to become more reduced and more reducing. A reducing agent acts by donating electrons, thereby becoming itself oxidized after having reduced a substrate. Thus, a reducing agent is an agent which donates electrons. Examples of reducing agents include dithiothreitol (DTT), mercaptoethanol, cysteine, thioglycolate, cysteamine, glutathione, and sodium borohydride. In one embodiment, the reducing agent does not comprise an enzyme.
"Disulfide bond formation" refers to the process of forming a covalent bond between two cysteines present in one or two polypeptides, which is schematized as "-S--S-".
"Disulfide bond reduction" refers to the process of cleaving a disulfide bond, thereby resulting in two thiol groups (-SH groups).
The term "disulfide bond isomerization" refers to an exchange of disulfide bonds between different cysteines, i.e., the shuffling of disulfide bonds.
"Protein disulfide bond isomerases" refer to proteins which catalyze the isomerization of disulfide bonds in proteins.
"No significant reduction" when used in the context of reduction of disulfide bridges means that generally less than 10%, such as less than 5%, e.g. less than 2% or less than 1% of the specified disulfide bridges in the solution undergo reduction.
Aspects and embodiments of the invention
As described above, in a first main aspect, the invention relates to an ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises an
IgG4-like CH3 region, c) incubating said first and second antibodies together under reducing conditions which allow the cysteines in the core hinge region to undergo disulfide- bond isomerization, and d) obtaining a bispecific antibody.
In a preferred embodiment, the first and second antibodies used in the methods of the invention are monoclonal antibodies. Monoclonal antibodies may e.g. be produced by the hybridoma method first described by Kohler et al. (14), or may be produced by recombinant DNA methods. Monoclonal antibodies may also be isolated from phage antibody libraries using the techniques described in, for example, Clackson et al. (15) and Marks et al. (16). Monoclonal antibodies may be obtained from any suitable source. Thus, for example, monoclonal antibodies may be obtained from hybridomas prepared from murine splenic B cells obtained from mice immunized with an antigen of interest, for instance in form of cells expressing the antigen on the surface, or a nucleic acid encoding an antigen of interest. Monoclonal antibodies may also be obtained from hybridomas derived from antibody-expressing cells of immunized humans or non-human mammals such as rats, dogs, primates, etc.
In one embodiment, the antibody of the invention is a human antibody. Human monoclonal antibodies directed may be generated using transgenic or transchromosomal mice carrying parts of the human immune system rather than the mouse system. Such transgenic and transchromosomic mice include mice referred to herein as HuMAb mice and KM mice, respectively, and are collectively referred to herein as "transgenic mice". The HuMAb mouse contains a human immunoglobulin gene miniloci that encodes unrearranged human heavy (μ and y) and K light chain immunoglobulin sequences, together with targeted mutations that inactivate the endogenous μ and K chain loci (17). Accordingly, the mice exhibit reduced expression of mouse IgM or K and in response to immunization, the introduced human heavy and light chain transgenes, undergo class switching and somatic mutation to generate high affinity human IgG, K monoclonal antibodies (17-20). The preparation of HuMAb mice is described in detail in ref. 21-25. See also US 5,545,806, US 5,569,825, US 5,625,126, US 5,633,425, US 5,789,650, US 5,877,397, US 5,661,016, US 5,814,318, US 5,874,299, US 5,770,429, US 5,545,807, WO 98/24884, WO 94/25585, WO 93/1227, WO 92/22645, WO 92/03918 and WO 01/09187.
The HCo7 mice have a JKD disruption in their endogenous light chain (kappa) genes (as described in Chen et al. (26)), a CMD disruption in their endogenous heavy chain genes (as described in Example 1 of WO 01/14424), a KCo5 human kappa light chain transgene (as described in Fishwild et al. (25)), and a HCo7 human heavy chain transgene (as described in US 5,770,429).
The HCol2 mice have a JKD disruption in their endogenous light chain (kappa) genes (as described in Chen et al. (26)), a CMD disruption in their endogenous heavy chain genes (as described in Example 1 of WO 01/14424), a KCo5 human kappa light chain transgene (as described in Fishwild et al. (25)), and a HCol2 human heavy chain transgene (as described in Example 2 of WO 01/14424). In the KM mouse strain, the endogenous mouse kappa light chain gene has been homozygously disrupted as described in Chen et al. (26) and the endogenous mouse heavy chain gene has been homozygously disrupted as described in Example 1 of WO 01/09187. This mouse strain carries a human kappa light chain transgene, KCo5, as described in Fishwild et al. (25). This mouse strain also carries a human heavy chain transchromosome composed of chromosome 14 fragment hCF (SC20) as described in WO 02/43478.
Splenocytes from these transgenic mice may be used to generate hybridomas that secrete human monoclonal antibodies according to well known techniques. Such transgenic non-human animals, non-human animals comprising an operable nucleic acid sequence coding for expression of antibody used in the invention, non-human animals stably transfected with one or more target-encoding nucleic acid sequences, and the like, are additional features of the present invention.
Human monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies to be used in the present invention, or antibodies used in the present invention originating from other species may also be generated transgenically through the generation of another non-human mammal or plant that is transgenic for the immunoglobulin heavy and light chain sequences of interest and production of the antibody in a recoverable form therefrom. In connection with the transgenic production in mammals, antibodies may be produced in, and recovered from, the milk of goats, cows, or other mammals. See for instance US 5,827,690, US 5,756,687, US 5,750,172 and US 5,741,957.
Further, human or other antibodies to be used in the present invention may be generated through display-type technologies, including, without limitation, phage display, retroviral display, ribosomal display, and other techniques, using techniques well known in the art and the resulting molecules may be subjected to additional maturation, such as affinity maturation, as such techniques are well known in the art (see for instance ref. 27, 28 and 30 (phage display), 29 (ribosomal display), 31-35 and US 5,733,743). If display technologies are utilized to produce antibodies that are not human, such antibodies may be humanized. As explained above, in some embodiments, the first and/or second antibody used in the method of the invention is an IgG4 antibody. However, the antibody used in the invention may in principle be of any isotype, provided that the sequences in the CH3 region allow half-molecule exchange. For example, the antibodies used or obtained in the method of the invention may comprise any of the constant region sequences shown in SEQ ID NO: 19-22 (outside any specified mutated positions). Thus, in one embodiment of the method of the invention, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region. In another embodiment, the first and/or second antibody comprises an IgG4-like core hinge region. For example, in some embodiments, said first and/or second antibody is an antibody which comprises a CXiX2C sequence in the core hinge region, wherein X1 and X2 can be any amino acid, provided that Xi and X2 are not both proline. In another embodiment, said first and/or second antibody is an antibody which comprises a CX3PC or CPX3C sequence in the core hinge region, wherein X3 can be any amino acid except for proline. In a further embodiment, said first and/or second antibody is an antibody which comprises a CSPC, CPSC, CRPC, CPRC, CGHC or CPHC sequence in the core hinge region. The above-described mutations may for example be introduced by site-directed mutagenesis well known in the art.
The choice of isotype typically will be guided by the desired effector functions, such as CDC induction, or activity in ADCC. Exemplary isotypes are IgGl, IgG2, IgG3, and IgG4 (see e.g. SEQ ID NO: 19-22). Either of the human light chain constant regions, kappa or lambda, may be used. If desired, the class of an antibody for use in the present invention may be switched by known methods. For example, an antibody to be used in the present invention that was originally IgM, IgGl or IgG2 may be class switched to an IgG4 antibody of the present invention. Thus, the effector function of the antibodies of the present invention may be changed by isotype switching to, e.g., an IgGl, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgD, IgA, IgE, or IgM antibody for various therapeutic uses.
In one embodiment, the first and/or second antibody used in the invention is a full-length antibody. In another embodiment, the first and/or second antibody of the invention used is an antibody fragment.
In one embodiment of the method of the invention, the first and/or second antibody comprises an IgG4 CH3 region, such as the IgG4 CH3 region having the sequence shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO:22). However, in another embodiments of the method of the invention, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region of a non-IgG4 isotype, wherein the CH3 sequence is such, or has been modified such, that it does not comprise any amino acid residues which participate in the formation of disulfide bonds or covalent or stable non-covalent inter-heavy chain bonds with other peptides comprising an identical amino acid sequence of the CH3 region. For example, in one further embodiment hereof, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 19), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 238 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Asp (D) in position 239 has been replaced by GIu (E); Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 302 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 328 has been replaced by Leu (L).
In a preferred embodiment, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 19), wherein Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R).
In another embodiment, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 19), but wherein the Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Tyr (W) or Phe (F).
In another further embodiment, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 20), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more, or all five of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Met (M) in position 276 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 288 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 298 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
In a preferred embodiment, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 20), wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
In a further preferred embodiment, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 20), wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
In another further embodiment, the first and/or second antibody comprises a
CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 21), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more or all 10 of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Ser (S) in position 314 has been replaced by Asn (N); Asn (N) in position 322 has been replaced by Lys (K); Met (M) in position 327 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 339 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 349 has been replaced by GIu (E); He (I) in position 352 has been replaced by VaI (V); Arg (R) in position 365 has been replaced by His (H); Phe (F) in position 366 has been replaced by Tyr (Y); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
In a preferred embodiment, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 21), wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
In a preferred embodiment, the first and/or second antibody comprises a CH3 region having the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 21), wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
In a further embodiment of the method of the invention, said first antibody comprises a CPPC in the core hinge region and comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region and wherein said second antibody comprises an CPPC in the core hinge region and comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region.
As explained above, in a main aspect, the invention relates to an ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, c) incubating said first and second antibodies together under reducing conditions which allow the cysteines in the core hinge region to undergo disulfide- bond isomerization, and d) obtaining a bispecific antibody.
In one embodiment of the method of the invention, the conditions in step c) are chosen such that no significant reduction or isomerization of disulfide bridges outside the core hinge region occurs.
In another embodiment, the reducing conditions in step c) are conditions that stimulate the intrinsic activity of the core hinge region to perform disulfide bond exchange. In a further embodiment of the invention, step c) comprises the addition of a reducing agent. In a further embodiment, step c) comprises the addition of an agent selected from the group consisting of: glutathione, L-cysteine, dithiothreitol, beta- mercapto-ethanol and cysteamine. In one embodiment of the method of the invention, the concentration of said reducing agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 microM of glutathione under the conditions described in Example 31, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 microM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 50 microM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 0.1 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 31.
In a further embodiment, the concentration of said reducing agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is - equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 microM of glutathione under the conditions described in Example 31, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 microM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 50 microM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 0.1 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 31, and
- is equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 M of glutathione under the conditions described in Example 31, such as equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 100 mM of glutathione equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 15 mM of glutathione.
In an embodiment, wherein the first antibody has a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region and/or the second antibody has a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region, it is preferred that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 2 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 4 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 6 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 8 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 35.
In a further embodiment, the concentration of said reducing agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is - equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 2 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 4 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 6 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 8 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 35, and equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 M of glutathione, such as equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 100 mM of glutathione equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 15 mM of glutathione.
In one embodiment of the method of the invention, step c) comprises the incubation of said antibodies in the presence of reduced glutathione for at least 1 hours, such as for at least 2 hours, e.g. for at least 5 hours, such as at least 10 hours at a temperature of 20°C or more, such as 37 °C.
In a further embodiment of the method of the invention, the conditions chosen in step c) are such that fewer than 10%, such as fewer than 5%, e.g. fewer than 2%, such as fewer than 1% of the antibody molecules in the resulting composition are in an aggregated state, as determined by size-exclusion chromatography as described herein (wherein a peak eluting earlier than the antibodies of the starting material is indicative of the formation of aggregates).
In one embodiment of the ex vivo method of the invention, the method comprises the addition of a protein having protein disulfide isomerase activity, such as PDI. In another embodiment of the ex vivo method of the invention, the method does not comprise the addition of a protein having protein disulfide isomerase activity, such as PDI.
In one embodiment of the ex vivo method of the invention, the method does not comprise the addition of living cells or cell extracts. As explained above, the first and second antibody used in the method of the invention differ in binding specificity, i.e. bind different epitopes. In principle, any combination of specificities can be used as starting material in the method of the invention. The method of invention is also not limited to having only two different antibodies as starting material. Thus, the method of the invention may also be performed with three or more antibodies as starting material. In such an embodiment, the composition obtained in step d) of the method of invention will contain a plurality of bispecific antibodies. In one embodiment of the method of the invention, the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4, CD38 or CXCR5 or for the signaling components of the B cell receptor, CD79a or CD79b. In another embodiment, the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5, and the second antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5.
In a further embodiment, the first antibody has a binding specificity for erbBl and the second antibody has a binding specificity for erbB2. In another embodiment, the first antibody has a binding specificity for CD19 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for CD20.
In a further embodiment, the first antibody has a binding specificity for CD38 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for CD34.
In an even further embodiment, the first antibody has a binding specificity for CD4 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for CXCR5.
In another embodiment of the method of the invention, the first antibody has a binding specificity for a pathogenic microorganism. In a further embodiment, the first antibody has a binding specificity for a pathogenic microorganism and the second antibody has binding specificity for an effector cell protein, such as CD3, CD25, CD28, CD16, CD89, CD32 or CDl.
A bispecific antibody can also be used to target a chemotherapeutic agent more specifically to the cells on which the agent should act. Thus, in a further embodiment of the method of the invention, the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for a chemotherapeutic agent.
Furthermore, serum half-life of an antibody may be altered by including in a bispecific antibody a binding specificity for a serum protein. For instance, serum half- life may be prolonged by including in a bispecific antibody, a binding specificity for serum albumin. Thus, in a further embodiment of the method of the invention, the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for a blood protein, such as serum albumin A second binding specificity can also be used to target an antibody to a specific tissue, such as brain or liver. Thus, in a further embodiment of the method of the invention, the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for a brain protein, such as transferrin or a liver protein.
Moreover, a second binding specificity can be used to target blood clotting factors to a particular desired site of action. For example, a bispecific antibody having a first binding specificity for a tumor cell and a second binding specificity for a blood clotting factor could direct blood clotting to a tumor, and thus stop tumor growth. Thus, in a further embodiment of the method of the invention, the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for a protein involved in blood clotting, such as tissue factor.
In further embodiments of the invention, the first and/or second antibody is linked to a compound selected from the group consisting of: a cytotoxic agent; a radioisotope; a prodrug or drug, such as a taxane; a cytokine; a chemokine and complement, such as CIq. Such compound may make killing of target cells more effective, e.g. in cancer therapy. The compound may alternatively be coupled to the resulting bispecific antibody, i.e. after the half-molecule exchange has taken place. In a further embodiment of the method of the invention, the method comprises a further step of bringing the composition obtained in step c) to non- reducing or less-reducing conditions, in order to stop further half-molecule exchange. This can be done by various methods known in the art, e.g. dialysis of resulting composition or size-based chromatography to remove a small molecule reducing agent. In an even further embodiment of the method of the invention, the resulting bispecific antibodies are stabilized by performing a chemical cross-linking of the two half-molecules, thus preventing any further exchange, even when the bispecific antibody is subsequently used under conditions, such as in vivo conditions, where the antibody could otherwise undergo half-molecule exchange. Thus, in one embodiment, the method of the invention comprises the further step of: a) chemically cross-linking the cysteines in the hinge region, e.g. using compounds containing maleimide, such as bis-maleimidohexane, b) chemically cross-linking of the carbohydrate side-chains on the half-molecules, e.g. via periodate oxidation followed by a reaction of the aldehyde groups with suitable cross-linkers, such as adipine dihydrazide, or c) cross-linking of asymmetrically introduced cysteines in the CH3 region, e.g. as described in Merchant et al. (36) (incorporated herein by reference), for example using one or more of the following combinations (reference to SEQ ID NO: 19):
- D282C in the first antibody with K275C in the second antibody,
- D282S in the first antibody with K275S in the second antibody,
- Y232C in the first antibody with S237C in the second antibody, - Y232C in the first antibody with D239C in the second antibody,
- Y232C in the first antibody with E240C in the second antibody,
- L234C in the first antibody with S237C in the second antibody,
- T277C in the first antibody with V280C in the second antibody,
- V280C in the first antibody with K275C in the second antibody. In a further aspect, the invention relates to stabilized bispecific antibodies obtained or obtainable by cross-linking methods, e.g. by any of the three cross- linking methods described above.
Regardless of whether or not the resulting bispecific antibody has been stabilized by cross-linking, the method of the invention may, in some embodiments, comprise a further step of purifying the bispecific antibody. Mixtures containing bispecific antibodies can be purified using standard chromatography techniques, such as (but not limited to) standard Protein A chromatography, Protein G, Protein L, cationic/anionic exchange chromatography, size exclusion chromatography, hydrophobic interaction chromatography, thiophilic chromatography or using ligands designed to capture IgG molecules (Protein A mimetics, Llama VHH ligands and the like). Alternatively, the IgG mixtures can be precipitated using standard techniques such as salt-induced precipitation (ammonium sulphate), addition of organic solvents (DMSO, ethanol), changing pH or non-ionic polymers (Polyethylene Glycol). In another setting, mixtures can be applied to filtration techniques using membranes allowing concentration of the IgG molecules. Combinations of all these techniques may be required to purify a bispecific antibody to full homogeneity as certain mixtures may still contain the parent IgG molecules next to the bispecific antibody. Additional purification steps may then be required to separate the bispecific antibody from the parent monospecific IgG molecules. This could e.g. be done by purification by binding and elution using an affinity column for the first binding specificity followed by binding and elution using an affinity column for the second binding specificity. In a preferred embodiment, in particular when no chemical cross-linking has been performed, the purification is done under conditions that prevent further half-molecule exchange, such as non-reducing conditions. The quantity, quality and purity of (purified) bispecific antibodies can be analyzed using routine biochemical techniques such as absorbance measurements, HP-SEC, SDS-PAGE, native PAGE and RP-HPLC. Of particular interest are techniques that can discriminate bispecific antibodies from the parent IgG molecules. Examples of such techniques are (but not limited to) IEF, cIEF, CIEX and Mass spectrometry (ESI, MALDI), allowing highly accurate separation and detection of the molecules on the basis of charge and/or mass. Dual binding specificity of the bispecific antibody can be assessed using a variety of different binding assay formats using for instance ELISA, RIA, Surface plasma resonance (SPR), Bio-layer Interferometry, DELFIA, FRET, ECL, Gyros and AlfaScreen. In one embodiment, half molecule exchange may be performed under conditions that favour formation of bispecific antibodies directed against one of the two antigens of interest. For example, consider antibodies against antigens X and Y. If exchange is performed using an excess of antibody against antigen X, such as a 5 fold excess or 10 fold excess, most or all antibodies against antibody Y will become bispecific (i.e. recognizing antigens X and Y).
This procedure may be followed by purification of bispecific antibodies on matrix-immobilized antigen Y and affinity column chromatography. The bound antibodies are highly enriched for the desired bispecific antibody. The unbound antibodies against antigen X may be used to repeat the cycle above. In case stabilization to prevent exchange in vivo is required, the bispecific antibodies can be cross-linked as described above. Following chemical cross-linking, non-stabilized antibodies can be purified from stabilized antibody by performing an additional exchange reaction with an excess of antibody against antigen Z followed by absorption of anti-Z containing antibody against matrix-immobilized antigen Z (such as by affinity columns chromatography). The non-bound fraction then contains the desired stabilized bispecific antibody.
In an even further embodiment of the method of the invention, the method comprises the further step of formulating the resulting bispecific antibodies for therapeutic use. This comprises the formulation of a therapeutically effective amount of the bispecific antibody in an aqueous solution that is suitable for human use, in particular suitable for parenteral, such as intravenous administration.
In a further aspect, the invention relates to an ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region and an IgG4 CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises a
CPPC sequence in the core hinge region and an IgG4 CH3 region, and c) incubating said first and second antibodies together under reducing conditions which allow the cysteines in the core hinge region to undergo disulfide- bond isomerization, and d) obtaining a bispecific antibody.
Preferably, in step c) a reducing agent has been added wherein the concentration of said agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 2 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 4 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 6 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 8 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 35. In a further aspect, the invention relates to a composition comprising bispecific antibodies obtained or obtainable by any of the method of the invention as described herein.
In a further main aspect, the invention relates to an isolated bispecific antibody comprising two IgG4-like CH3 regions.
In one embodiment, said antibody comprises one or two CPPC sequences in the core hinge region. In another embodiment, said antibody comprises one or two CXiX2C sequences in the core hinge region, wherein X1 and X2 can be any amino acid, provided that Xi and X2 are not both proline.
In a further embodiment, said the antibody comprises one or two CX3PC or CPX3C sequences in the core hinge region, wherein X3 can be any amino acid except for proline.
In an even further embodiment, said antibody comprises one or two CSPC, CPSC, CRPC or CPRC sequences in the core hinge region.
In some embodiments of the isolated bispecific antibody, the first and/or the second CH3 region is of a non-IgG4 isotype, wherein the CH3 sequence is such, or has been modified such, that it does not comprise any amino acid residues which participate in the formation of disulfide bonds or covalent or stable non-covalent inter-heavy chain bonds with other peptides comprising an identical amino acid sequence of the CH3 region. In one further embodiment thereof, the first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 19), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 238 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Asp (D) in position 239 has been replaced by GIu (E); Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 302 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 328 has been replaced by Leu (L).
In another further embodiment, said first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 20), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Met (M) in position 276 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 288 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 298 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
In a yet further embodiment, said first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in Figure 18 (SEQ ID NO: 21), wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Ser (S) in position 314 has been replaced by Asn (N); Asn (N) in position 322 has been replaced by Lys (K); Met (M) in position 327 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 339 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 349 has been replaced by GIu (E); He (I) in position 352 has been replaced by VaI (V); Arg (R) in position 365 has been replaced by His (H); Phe (F) in position 366 has been replaced by Tyr (Y); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
In an even further embodiment, the first and/or the second CH3 region of the antibody of the invention is an IgG4 CH3 region.
In an even further aspect, invention relates to a composition, such as a pharmaceutical composition comprising bispecific antibodies of the invention or bispecific antibodies obtained or obtainable by any of the method of the invention as described herein for use as a medicament, such as for use as a medicament for the treatment of cancer or infectious diseases.
In an even further aspect, invention relates to the use of a composition comprising bispecific antibodies of the invention or bispecific antibodies obtained or obtainable by any of the method of the invention for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of cancer or infectious diseases.
The method of the invention can also be used to select particularly interesting or effective combinations of target binding specificities. For instance, using the method of the invention, a set or "matrix" of different bispecific antibodies can be made from a set of antibodies having different binding specificities. The resulting bispecific antibody set or matrix can then be tested for a desired biological property to select the best combination.
Thus, in a yet further aspect, the invention relates to a method for the selection of a bispecific antibody having a desired property, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a set of antibodies, wherein each antibody has a different target specificity and wherein each antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) incubating each antibody of said set of antibodies with another antibody of said set under reducing conditions, thus generating a set of antibody mixtures, wherein each mixture contains a different' bispecific antibody, c) assaying the resulting set of antibody mixtures for a given desired property, and d) selecting a bispecific antibody mixture having the desired property.
Step b) in the method above can be performed as previously described above for step c).
In one embodiment, the desired property to be tested is tumor cell killing.
References
1. Aalberse, R. C, R. van der Gaag, and J. van Leeuwen. 1983. Serologic aspects of IgG4 antibodies. I. Prolonged immunization results in an IgG4- restricted response. J Immunol 130:722.
2. van der Zee, J. S., P. van Swieten, and R. C. Aalberse. 1986. Serologic aspects of IgG4 antibodies. II. IgG4 antibodies form small, nonprecipitating immune complexes due to functional monovalency. J Immunol 137:3566.
3. Schuurman, J., R. Van Ree, G. J. Perdok, H. R. Van Doom, K. Y. Tan, and R. C. Aalberse. 1999. Normal human immunoglobulin G4 is bispecific: it has two different antigen-combining sites. Immunology 97:693. 4. Aalberse, R. C, and J. Schuurman. 2002. IgG4 breaking the rules.
Immunology 105:9. 5. Aalberse, R. C, J. Schuurman, and R. van Ree. 1999. The apparent monovalency of human IgG4 is due to bispecificity. Int Arch Allergy Immunol
118:187. 6. Schuurman, J., G. J. Perdok, A. D. Goiter, and R. C. Aalberse. 2001. The inter-heavy chain disulfide bonds of IgG4 are in equilibrium with intra-chain disulfide bonds. MoI Immunol 38:1. 7. Bloom, J. W., M. S. Madanat, D. Marriott, T. Wong, and S. Y. Chan. 1997.
Intrachain disulfide bond in the core hinge region of human IgG4. Protein Sci 6:407. 8. Gregory, L, K. G. Davis, B. Sheth, J. Boyd, R. Jefferis, C. Nave, and D. R. Burton. 1987. The solution conformations of the subclasses of human IgG deduced from sedimentation and small angle X-ray scattering studies. MoI Immunol 24:821. 9. Deng, L, D. WyNe, Y. S. Tsao, B. Larkin, M. Voloch, and W. L. Ling. 2004. Detection and quantification of the human IgG4 half-molecule, HL, from unpurified cell-culture supernatants. Blotechnol Appl Biochem 40:261.
10. Marcin and Zhu (2005) Acta Pharmacol Sin. 26:649
11. Fundamental Immunology Ch. 7 (Paul, W., ed., 2nd ed. Raven Press, N. Y. (1989))
12. Chothia and Lesk J. MoI. Biol. 196, 901-917 (1987)
13. Kabat et al., Sequences of Proteins of Immunological Interest, 5th Ed. Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD. (1991)
14. Kohler et al., Nature 256, 495 (1975) 15. Clackson et al., Nature 352, 624-628 (1991)
16. Marks et al., J. MoI. Biol. 222, 581-597 (1991)
17. Lonberg, N. et al., Nature 368, 856-859 (1994)
18. Lonberg, N. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology 113f 49-101 (1994)
19. Lonberg, N. and Huszar, D., Intern. Rev. Immunol. Vol. 13 65-93 (1995) 20. Harding, F. and Lonberg, N. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci 264 536-546 (1995)).
21. Taylor, L. et al., Nucleic Acids Research 20, 6287-6295 (1992)
22. Chen, J. et al., International Immunology 5, 647-656 (1993)
23. Tuaillon et al., J. Immunol. 152, 2912-2920 (1994)
24. Taylor, L. et al., International Immunology 6, 579-591 (1994) 25. Fishwild, D. et al., Nature Biotechnology 14, 845-851 (1996)
26. Chen et al., EMBO J. 12, 821-830 (1993)
27. Hoogenboom et al., J. MoI. Biol. 227, 381 (1991)
28. Vaughan et al., Nature Biotech 14, 309 (1996)
29. Hanes and Plucthau, PNAS USA 94, 4937-4942 (1997) 30. Parmley and Smith, Gene 73, 305-318 (1988)
31. Scott TIBS 17, 241-245 (1992)
32. Cwirla et al., PNAS USA 87, 6378-6382 (1990)
33. Russel et al., Nucl. Acids Research 21, 1081-1085 (1993),
34. Hoogenboom et al., Immunol. Reviews 130. 43-68 (1992) 35. Chiswell and McCafferty TIBTECH 10, 80-84 (1992) 36. Merchant et al. (1998) Nature Biotech 16:677-681
37. Sambrook, Russell et al. 2000 Molecular cloning. A laboratory manual (third edition), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
38. Akkerdaas, van Ree et al. 1995 Allergy 50(3), 215-220 39. de Groot et al. 1988 J. Allergy Clin. Immunol. 82, 778
The present invention is further illustrated by the following examples which should not be construed as further limiting.
EXAMPLES
Example 1: Oligonucleotide primers and PCR amplification
Oligonucleotide primers were synthesized and quantified by Isogen Bioscience (Maarssen, The Netherlands). Primers were dissolved in H2O to 100 pmol/μl and stored at -2O0C. A summary of all PCR and sequencing primers is given below. For PCR, PfuTurbo® Hotstart DNA polymerase (Stratagene, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) was used according to the manufacturer's instructions. Each reaction mix contained 200 μM mixed dNTPs (Roche Diagnostics, Almere, The Netherlands), 6.7 pmol of both the forward and reverse primer, 100 ng of genomic DNA or 1 ng of plasmid DNA and 1 unit of PfuTurbo® Hotstart DNA polymerase in PCR reaction buffer (supplied with polymerase) in a total volume of 20 μl. PCR reactions were carried out with a TGradient Thermocycler 96 (Whatman Biometra, Goettingen, Germany) using a 32-cycle program: denaturing at 95°C for 2 min; 30 cycles of 95°C for 30 sec, a 60-700C gradient (or another specific annealing temperature) for 30 sec, and 72°C for 3 min; final extension at 72°C for 10 min. If appropriate, the PCR mixtures were stored at 4°C until further analysis or processing.
Example 2: Agarose gel electrophoresis
Agarose gel electrophoresis was performed according to Sambrook (37) using gels of 50 ml, in 1 x Tris Acetate EDTA buffer. DNA was visualized by the inclusion of ethidium bromide in the gel and observation under UV light. Gel images were recorded by a CCD camera and an image analysis system (GeneGnome; Syngene, via Westburg B. V., Leusden, The Netherlands).
Example 3: Analysis and purification of PCR products and enzymatic digestion Purification of desired PCR fragments was carried out using a MinElute PCR Purification Kit (Qiagen, via Westburg, Leusden, The Netherlands; product* 28006), according to the manufacturer's instructions. Isolated DNA was quantified by UV spectroscopy and the quality was assessed by agarose gel electrophoresis. Alternatively, PCR or digestion products were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis (e.g. when multiple fragments were present) using a 1% Tris Acetate EDTA agarose gel. The desired fragment was excised from the gel and recovered using the QIAEX II Gel Extraction Kit (Qiagen; product* 20051), according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Example 4: Quantification of DNA by UV spectroscopy
Optical density of nucleic acids was determined using a NanoDrop ND-1000 Spectrophotometer (Isogen Life Science, Maarssen, The Netherlands) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The DNA concentration was measured by analysis of the optical density (OD) at 260 nm (one OD260nm unit = 50 μg/ml). For all samples, the buffer in which the nucleic acids were dissolved was used as a reference.
Example 5: Restriction enzyme digestions
Restriction enzymes and supplements were obtained from New England Biolabs (Beverly, MA, USA) or Fermetas (Vilnius, Lithuania) and used according to the manufacturer's instructions.
DNA (100 ng) was digested with 5 units of enzyme(s) in the appropriate buffer in a final volume of 10 μl (reaction volumes were scaled up as appropriate).
Digestions were incubated at the recommended temperature for a minimum of 60 min. For fragments requiring double digestions with restriction enzymes which involve incompatible buffers or temperature requirements, digestions were performed sequentially. If necessary digestion products were purified by agarose gel electrophoresis and gel extraction.
Example 6: Ligation of DNA fragments
Ligations of DNA fragments were performed with the Quick Ligation Kit (New England Biolabs) according to the manufacturer's instructions. For each ligation, vector DNA was mixed with approximately three-fold molar excess of insert DNA.
Example 7: Transformation of E. coli Plasmid DNA (1-5 μl of DNA solution, typically 2 μl of DNA ligation mix) was transformed into One Shot DH5α-TlR or MACH-I T1R competent E. coli cells (Invitrogen, Breda, The Netherlands; product* 12297-016) using the heat-shock method, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Next, cells were plated on Luria-Bertani (LB) agar plates containing 50 μg/ml ampicillin. Plates were incubated for 16-18 h at 37°C until bacterial colonies became evident.
Example 8: Screening of bacterial colonies by PCR
Bacterial colonies were screened for the presence of vectors containing the desired sequences via colony PCR using the HotStarTaq Master Mix Kit (Qiagen; product* 203445) and the appropriate forward and reverse primers (Appendix 1).
Selected colonies were lightly touched with a 20 μl pipette tip and touched briefly in
2 ml LB for small scale culture, and then resuspended in the PCR mix. PCR was performed with a TGradient Thermocycler 96 using a 35-cycle program: denaturation at 95°C for 15 min; 35 cycles of 94°C for 30 sec, 55°C for 30 sec and 72°C for 2 min; followed by a final extension step of 10 min at 72°C. If appropriate, the PCR mixtures were stored at 4°C until analysis by agarose gel electrophoresis.
Example 9: Plasmid DNA isolation from E. coli culture Plasmid DNA was isolated from E. coli cultures using the following kits from
Qiagen (via Westburg, Leusden, The Netherlands), according to the manufacturer's instructions. For bulk plasmid preparation (50-150 ml culture), either a HiSpeed Plasmid Maxi Kit (product* 12663) or a HiSpeed Plasmid Midi Kit (product* 12643) was used. For small scale plasmid preparation (± 2 ml culture) a Qiaprep Spin Miniprep Kit (product* 27106) was used and DNA was eluted in 50 μl elution buffer (supplied with kit).
Example 10: DNA sequencing
Plasmid DNA was sequenced using standard procedures known in the art. Sequences were analyzed using Vector NTI software (Informax, Oxford, UK).
Example 11: Transient expression in HEK-293F cells
Freestyle™ 293-F (a HEK-293 subclone adapted to suspension growth and chemically defined Freestyle medium, e. g. HEK-293F) cells were obtained from Invitrogen and transfected according to the manufacturer's protocol using 293fectin (Invitrogen).
Example 12: Construction of pTomG4; A vector for the expression of variable heavy chain regions with the constant region of human IgG4
Genomic DNA was isolated from a blood sample of a volunteer and used as a template in a PCR with primers IGG4gene2f and IGG4gene2r (see table below), amplifying the complete genomic constant region of the heavy chain of IgG4 and introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into the mammalian expression vector pEE6.4 (Lonza Biologies). The PCR fragment was purified and cloned into pEE6.4. For this the PCR product was digested with HindIII and EcoRI, followed by heat inactivation of the restriction enzymes. The pEE6.4 vector was digested HindIII and EcoRI, followed by heat inactivation of the restriction enzymes and dephosphorylation of the vector fragment with shrimp alkaline phosphatase, followed by heat inactivation of the phosphatase. The IgG4 fragment and the pEE6.4HindIII/EcoRI dephosphorylated vector were ligated and transformed into competent MACH1-T1R cells (Invitrogen). Three clones were grown in LB and plasmid DNA was isolated from a small culture (1.5 mL). Restriction digestion revealed a pattern consistent with the cloning of the IgG4 fragment in the pEE6.4 vector. Plasmid DNA from two clones was transformed in DH5α-TlR E.coli and plasmid DNA was isolated and the constructs were checked by sequence analysis of the insert and one clone was found to be identical to a genomic IgG4 clone from the Genbank database, apart from some minor differences in introns. These differences are presumably either polymorphisms or sequence faults in the Genbank sequence. The plasmid was named pTomG4.
Table 1 : primer sequences
Example 13: Cloning of the variable regions of the mouse anti-Betvl and anti-Feldl antibodies
Total RNA was prepared from O.3xlO5 (Betvl) or 0.9xl05 (FeIdI) mouse hybridoma cells (For Betvl: clone 2H8 from ref. 38 and for FeIdI: clone 4F7 from ref. 39 with the RNeasy kit (Qiagen, Westburg, Leusden, Netherlands) according to the manufacturer's protocol.
5'-RACE-Complementary DNA (cDNA) of RNA was prepared from approximately 100 ng total RNA, using the SMART RACE cDNA Amplification kit (BD Biosciences Clontech, Mountain View, CA, USA), following the manufacturer's protocol.
The VL and VH regions of the Betvl and FeIdI antibody were amplified by PCR. For this PfuTurbo® Hotstart DNA polymerase (Stratagene) was used according to the manufacturer's instructions. Each reaction mix contained 200 μM mixed dNTPs (Roche Diagnostics), 12 pmol of the reverse primer (RACEGlmml for the VH region and RACEKmml for the VL region), 7.2 pmol UPM-Mix (UPM-Mix: 2μM ShortUPMH3 and 0.4 μM LongUPMH3 oligonucleotide), 0.6 μl of the 5'RACE cDNA template as described above, and 1.5 unit of PfuTurbo® Hotstart DNA polymerase in PCR reaction buffer (supplied with polymerase) in a total volume of 30 μl. PCR reactions were carried out with a TGradient Thermocycler 96 (Whatman
Biometra) using a 35-cycle program: denaturing at 95°C for 2 min; 35 cycles of 95°C for 30 sec, a 55°C for 30 sec, and 72°C for 1.5 min; final extension at 72°C for 10 min. The reaction products were separated by agarose gel electrophoresis on a 1 % TAE agarose gel and stained with ethidium bromide. Bands of the correct size were cut from the gels and the DNA was isolated from the agarose using the QiaexII gel extraction kit (Qiagen). Gel isolated PCR fragments were A tailed by a 10 min 72 °C incubation with
200 μM dATP and 2.5 units Amplitaq (Perkin Elmer) and purified using minielute columns (Qiagen). A-tailed PCR fragments were cloned into the pGEMTeasy vector (Promega) using the pGEMT easy vector system II kit (Promega), following the manufacturer's protocol. 2 μl of the ligation mixture was transformed into OneShot DH5αTlR competent E. CoIi (Invitrogen) and plated on LB/ Amp/ IPTG/ Xgal plates. Four, insert containing, white colonies each for the VH and VL sequences were picked and the inserts were sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequences of the VH and VL of Betvl are given in SEQ ID NO: 15 and 16 and the deduced amino acid sequences of FeIdI are depicted in SEQ ID NO: 17 and 18.
VH sequence Betvl (SEQ ID NO: 15): mkcswvifflmavvtgvnsevqlqqsgaelvkpgasvklsctasgfnikdtyihwvkqrpeqglewvgridpatgntr ydpkfqgkatitadtssntaylqlssltsedtavyycasfrpgyaldywgqgtsvtvss
VL sequence Betvl (SEQ ID NO: 16): mesqiqafvfvflwlsgvdgdivmtqshkfmstsvgdrvsftckasqdvftavawyqqkpgqspklliywastrrtgvp drftgsgsgtdytltissvqaedlalyycqqhfstpptfgggtkleik
VH sequence FeIdI (SEQ ID NO:17): mgwsyiilflvatatdvhsqvqlqqpgaelvkpgasvklsckasgysftsywmhwlkqrpgqglewigeinpnngrty ynekfktkatltvdkssstaymqlnsltsedsavyycarrltmvesfaywgqgtlvtfsa
VL sequence FeIdI (SEQ ID NO: 18): mesqtqvlmsllfwvsgtcgdivmtqspssltvtagekvtmsckssqsllnsgnqknyltwyqqkpgqppklliywas tresgvpdrftgsgsgtdfsltissvqaedlaiyycqndysypftfgsgtkleik
Example 14: Construction of pConGlfBetVl: A vector for the production of the heavy chain of Betvl -IgGl
The VH coding region of mouse anti-BetVl antibody was amplified by PCR from a plasmid containing this region (example 13) using the primers VHexbetvlfor and VHexbetvlrev, introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into pConGlfO.4 and an ideal Kozak sequence. The VH fragment was gel purified and cloned into pConGlfO.4. For this the PCR product and the pConKappa0.4 vector were digested with HindIII and Apal and purified. The VH fragment and the pConGlf0.4HindIII-ApaI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5α-TlR cells. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the correct sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pConGlfBetvl.
Example 15: Construction of pConKBetvl: A vector for the production of the light chain of Betvl
The V|_ coding region mouse anti-BetVl antibody was amplified from a plasmid containing this region (example 13) using the primers VLexbetvlfor and VLexbetvlrev, introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into pConK0.4 and an ideal Kozak sequence. The PCR product and the pConKappa0.4 vector were digested with HindIII and BsiWI and purified. The VL fragment and the pConKappa0.4HindIII- BsiWI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5α T1R E. coli. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pConKBetvl.
Example 16: Construction of pTomG4 Betvl: A vector for the production of the heavy chain of Betvl-IgG4
To construct a vector for expression of Betvl-IgG4, the VH region of BetVl was cloned in pTomG4. For this, pTomG4 and pConGlfBetvl were digested with HindIII and Apal and the relevant fragments were isolated. The Betvl VH fragment and the pTomG4HindIII-ApaI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5α-TlR cells. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pTomG4Betvl.
Example 17: Construction of pConGlfFeldl: A vector for the production of the heavy chain of FeIdI-IgGl
The VH coding region of mouse anti-Feldl antibody was amplified by PCR from a plasmid containing this region (example 13) using the primers VHexfeldlfor and
VHexfeldlrev, introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into pConGlfO.4 and an ideal Kozak sequence. The VH fragment was gel purified and cloned into pConGlfO.4. For this the PCR product and the pConKappa0.4 vector were digested with HindIII and Apal and purified. The VH fragment and the pConGlf0.4HindIII-ApaI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5α-TlR cells. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the correct sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pConGlfFeldl.
Example 18: Construction of pConKFeldl: A vector for the production of the light chain of FeIdI
The V|_ coding region mouse anti-v FeIdI antibody was amplified from a plasmid containing this region (example 13) using the primers VLexfeldlfor and VLexfeldlrev, introducing suitable restriction sites for cloning into pConK0.4 and an ideal Kozak sequence. The PCR product and the pConKappa0.4 vector were digested with HindIII and BsiWI and purified. The VL fragment and the pConKappa0.4HindIII- BsiWI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5α T1R E. coli. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pConKFeldl.
Example 19: Construction of pTomG4Feldl: A vector for the production of the heavy chain of Feldl-IgG4
To construct a vector for expression of Feldl-IgG4, the VH region of FeIdI was cloned in pTomG4. For this, pTomG4 and pConGlf FeIdI were digested with HindIII and Apal and the relevant fragments were isolated. The FeIdI VH fragment and the pTomG4HindIII-ApaI digested vector were ligated and transformed into competent DH5α-TlR cells. A clone was selected containing the correct insert size and the sequence was confirmed. This plasmid was named pTomG4Feldl.
Example 20: Construction of antibody expression vectors for the expression of 2F8-IgG4 and 7D8-IgG4
Expression vectors for the expression of HuMab 2F8 (IgGl-EGFR) and HuMab 7D8 (IgGl-CD20) were constructed. The VH and VL coding regions of HuMab 2F8 (WO 02/100348) and HuMab 7D8 (WO 04/035607) were cloned in the expression vector pConGlf (Lonza Biologies) for the production of the IgGl heavy chain and pConKappa for the production of the kappa light chain, yielding the vectors pConGlf2F8, pConGlf7D8, pConKappa2F8 and pConKappa7D8. The VH regions of pConGlf2F8 and pConGlf7D8 were removed from these vectors by a Hindlll/Apal digestion and inserted into a Hindlll/Apal digested pTomG4 vector, resulting in pTomG42F8 and pTomG47D8 respectively.
Example 21: Production of Betvl-IgGl, Betvl-IgG4, FeIdI-IgGl and FeIdI- IgG4 by transient expression in HEK- 293F cells
Antibodies were produced from all constructs by cotransfecting the relevant heavy and light chain vectors in HEK-293F cells using 293fectin according to the manufacturer's instructions. For Betvl-IgGl, pConGIBetvl and pConKBetvl were coexpressed. For Betvl-IgG4, pTomG4Betvl and pConKBetvl were coexpressed. For FeIdI-IgGl, pConGlFeldl and pConKFeldl were coexpressed. For Feldl-IgG4, pTomG4Feldl and pConKFeldl were coexpressed. For IgGl-EGFr, pConGlf2F8 and pConKappa2F8 were coexpressed. For IgG4-EGFr, pTomG42F8 and pConKappa2F8 were coexpressed. For IgGl-CD20, pConGlf7D8 and pConKappa7D8 were coexpressed. For IgG4-CD20, pTomG47D8 and pConkappa7D8 were coexpressed.
Example 22: Purification of IgGl and IgG4 antibodies
IgGl and IgG4 antibodies were purified by protein A affinity chromatography. The cell culture supernatants were filtered over a 0.20 μM dead-end filter, followed by loading on a 5 ml Protein A column (rProtein A FF, GE Healthvcare) and elution of the IgG with 0.1 M citric acid-NaOH, pH 3. The eluate was immediately neutralized with 2 M Tris-HCI, pH 9 and dialyzed overnight to 12.6 mM sodium phosphate, 140 mM NaCI, pH 7.4 (B. Braun, Oss, The Netherlands). After dialysis, samples were sterile filtered over a 0.20 μM dead-end filter. Concentration of the purified IgGs was determined by nephelometry and absorbance at 280 nm. Purified proteins were analyzed by SDS-PAGE, IEF, Mass spectrometry and Glycoanalysis.
Example 23: SDS-PAGE analysis of purified IgGs
After purification, the Betvl and FeIdI, IgGl and IgG4 antibodies were analyzed on non-reducing SDS-PAGE. The Bis-Tris electrophoresis method used is a modification of the Laemmli method (Laemmli 1970 Nature 227(5259): 680-5), where the samples were run at neutral pH. The SDS-PAGE gels were stained with
Coomassie and digitally imaged using the GeneGenius (Synoptics, Cambridge, UK).
As can be seen in Figure 1, Betvl and FeIdI IgGl showed 1 major band representing the full length tetrameric (2 heavy and two light chains) FeIdI and Betvl IgGl molecules. Betvl and FeIdI IgG4 showed to have, besides the major band representing the tetrameric IgG4 molecule, substantial amounts of half- molecules (i.e. one heavy band one light chain).
Example 24: Evaluation of IgG4 half molecule exchange in mice Five nu/nu Balb/c mice 6-8 weeks of age were used to follow the exchange of
IgG4 half molecules. The mice were housed in a barrier unit of the Central Laboratory Animal Facility (Utrecht, The Netherlands) and kept in filter-top cages with water and food provided ad libitum. All experiments were approved by the Utrecht University animal ethics committee. Chimeric antibodies were administered intraperitoneal^. Blood samples (75-
100 μl) were drawn at 4.25 hours, 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours after administration. Blood was collected in heparin-containing vials and centrifuged for 5 minutes at 10.000g to separate plasma from cells. Plasma was stored at -200C for determination of antigen specific antibody and bispecific antibody levels. In this experiment the exchange of chimeric IgG4 half molecules (n=2) was compared with the exchange of IgGl half molecules (n = 3). Mixtures of Bet v 1 and FeI d 1 specific antibodies (IgGl or IgG4) were administered to the mice at a dose of 600 μg (300 μg of each antigen specific antibody) in 200 μl per mouse.
Plasma concentrations of Bet v 1 or FeI d 1 binding antibodies were measured in the antigen binding test. To this end, plasma samples were incubated with 0.75 mg of protein G Sepharose (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden) in 750 μl PBS-IAT (PBS supplemented with 1 μg/ml IVIg, 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) in the presence of 125I-labeled Bet v 1 or 125I- labeled FeI d 1 for 24h. Next, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T (PBS supplemented with 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured. The concentration of Bet v 1 or FeI d 1 specific IgG was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific antibodies or FeI d 1 specific antibodies as a standard (range 0-200 ng per test as determined by nephelometer). The concentration of bispecific IgG was measured in two variants of the heterologous cross-linking assay. In the first assay, plasma was incubated for 24h with Sepharose-coupled Bet v 1 (0.5 mg) in a total volume of 300 μl in PBS-IAT. Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125I-labeled FeI d 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured. The concentration of bispecific IgG (Bet v 1-FeI d 1) was calculated using the calibration curve of the FeI d 1 binding test, which was obtained from purified FeI d 1 binding rlgG. In the second assay FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity was measured in a similar procedure using Sepharose-coupled rFel d 1 (0.5 mg) and 125I-labeled Bet v 1. The concentration of bispecific IgG (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific rlgG as a standard (same curve as in Bet v 1 binding test).
In Figure 2 the concentration of bispecific IgG (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) is plotted versus the concentration of Bet v 1 binding IgG at different time points. No bispecific
IgG was observed in the mice dosed with IgGl mixes in contrast to the mice dosed with IgG4. After 24h the generation of bispecific IgG4 was maximal and corresponded to an exchange of 100%.
In Figure 3A the formation of bispecific human IgG4 is followed in time. Bispecific antibodies appeared in time in the plasma of mice injected with mixtures of IgG4, but not IgGl, with bispecific reactivity achieving a maximum of almost 50% after 1-2 days incubation (note: if equal amounts of IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl are exchanged, maximal 50% of the IgG4-Betvl half-antibodies will be incorporated in the bispecific fraction after random and complete exchange of half-antibodies). A random Fab arm exchange between equal amounts of IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl, would be consistent with approximately half of the IgG4 molecules acquiring bispecificity. As a control, a 20-fold-excess of an additional IgG4 directed against an irrelevant antigen (IgG4 generated from anti-EGFr antibody 2F8) was injected in mice together with IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl.The excess irrelevant IgG4 competed with the generation of Betvl-Feldl-bispecific IgG4.
In another experiment (figure 3B) the same murine plasma samples were tested for their ability to cross-link radio-labeled soluble FeI d 1 to Sepharose- immobilized FeI d 1. It was found that the monospecific cross-linking activity was decreased in mice dosed with an equal mixture of IgG4s but not IgGIs, indicating a loss of monospecific cross-linking activity. A maximal reduction of ~50% was reached after about one day. In mice dosed with the additional excess of irrelevant IgG4, monospecific cross-linking activity almost completely disappeared with similar kinetics.
Size-exclusion chromatography was performed to exclude the possibility that bispecific activity observed in the mice dosed with IgG4 was the result of IgG aggregation (see figure 4). For this purpose, a plasma sample (drawn at t=24h) was fractionated on a Superdex200 column, after which FeI d 1 binding IgG and Bet v 1- FeI d 1 cross-linking IgG were measured in the fractions. FeI d 1 binding antibodies eluted in one peak with a retention volume of ~12.9 ml, which corresponds to the retention volume of monomeric IgG. The heterologous Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the same fractions indicating that bispecific activity was associated with monomeric IgG. In the rlgGl containing plasma no Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking activity was present before fractionation. Also in the eluted fractions no heterologous cross-linking activity was measured (data not shown).
Example 25: Evaluation of exchange activity in whole blood (components)
Chimeric antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with whole blood, blood cells, plasma or serum to investigate the exchange activity of whole blood (components).
In this experiment the exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated in whole blood from two healthy blood donors, A and B, in which the endogenous plasma level of IgG4 was determined by nephelometry (being 346 and 554 μg/ml, respectively). Whole blood was obtained in vacutainers supplemented with TFPI (Tissue Factor Pathway Inhibitor from Chiron Corporation, Emeryville, California) in a final concentration of 40 μg/ml. Blood cells and plasma were obtained by centrifugation of whole blood. The cellular fraction was washed 3 times with Optimem (Invitrogen, Breda, The Netherlands) and subsequently resuspended in Optimem. Serum was obtained by incubating whole blood in a glass vacutainer with clot activator for 30 min at 37°C, after which the clotted blood was spinned down. The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated and compared to the exchange of IgGl half molecules. As a control the blood samples were also incubated in the absence of chimeric antibodies. The following antibodies mixtures were prepared in PBS:
1. Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (10 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (10 μg)
2. Bet v 1 specific IgGl (10 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgGl (10 μg) These antibody mixtures were incubated with blood, blood cells, plasma or serum in a total volume of 100 μl (final concentration for each antibody was 0.1 μg/ml) on a horizontal orbital shaker (125 rpm) at 37°C. Final hematocrit in the incubation mixtures with whole blood and blood cells was around ~40%. After 24h the incubation mixtures were centrifuged for 1 min at 2800 rpm in an Eppendorf centrifuge, after which a sample of 10 μl was drawn in 500 μl PBS-AT (PBS supplemented with 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3). Samples were stored, if necessary, at 4°C.
Bispecific activity (i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity) was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay. In this assay, a sample was incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled recombinant FeI d 1 in a total volume of 300 μl in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 μg/ml IVIg). Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
In Figure 5 bispecific activity is represented as percentage bound 125I-labeled
Bet v 1, which was determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay. Bispecific activity is a measure for the exchange of IgG4 half molecules, which was primarily observed in whole blood and the cellular fraction of whole blood (Fig 5a). Bispecific levels in the cellular fraction were even higher than in whole blood. This is most likely explained by the fact that in the cellular fraction endogenous IgG4, which can also be exchanged with the added chimeric IgG4 antibodies, is no longer present. Some bispecific activity was also observed in plasma and serum, but this activity was much lower than observed in whole blood and only slightly higher than background level, being 1.7%, which was obtained by incubating the IgG4 mixture in Optimem. No bispecific activity was observed in any of the incubations containing IgGl (Fig. 5b). Also in the control incubations without chimeric antibodies no bispecific activity was observed (Fig. 5c). Size-exclusion chromatography was performed to exclude the possibility that bispecific activity observed in the IgG4 mix was the result of IgG aggregation. For this purpose, a sample (drawn at t=24h) was fractionated on a Superdex200 column, after which FeI d 1 binding IgG and Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross- linking IgG were measured in the fractions. FeI d 1 binding antibodies eluted in one peak with a retention volume of ~12.9 ml, which corresponds to the retention volume of monomeric IgG. The heterologous Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the same fractions indicating that bispecific activity was associated with monomeric IgG (data not shown).
Example 26: Evaluation of blood cell mediated IgG4 exchange activity
Chimeric antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with three different types of human blood cells (i.e. mononuclear cells (MNC), erythrocytes and platelets) to investigate IgG4 exchange activity. Whole blood from an anonymous donor was drawn in a heparin containing vacutainer and subsequently centrifuged in Percoll (Pharmacia Fine Chemicals, Uppsala, Sweden) to isolate MNCs. The isolated MNCs were resuspended in Optimem serum free culture medium (Invitrogen, Breda, The Netherlands) before use. Freshly purified erythrocytes and platelets (provided by the Blood Cell Research Department of Sanquin) were obtained from two different anonymous donors. These cells were also resuspended in Optimem after being washed 3 times. In addition, platelets were supplemented with 10 mM glucose.
The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated and compared to the exchange of IgGl half molecules. The following antibodies mixtures were prepared in PBS:
-Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (10 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (10 μg)
-Bet v 1 specific IgGl (10 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgGl (10 μg)
These antibody mixtures were incubated with 1.8xlO4 MNCs, 4.OxIO8 erythrocytes or 3.5xlO4 platelets in a total volume of 100 μl (final concentration for each antibody was 0.1 μg/ml) on a horizontal orbital shaker (125 rpm) at 37°C. After
48h the incubation mixtures were centrifuged for 1 min at 2800 rpm in an Eppendorf centrifuge, after which a sample of 10 μl was drawn in 500 μl PBS-AT (PBS supplemented with 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3). Samples were stored, if necessary, at 4°C.
Bispecific activity (i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity) was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay. In this assay, a sample was incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled recombinant FeI d 1 in a total volume of 300 μl in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 μg/ml IVIg). Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
In Figure 6 bispecific activity is shown as percentage bound 125I-labeled Bet v 1, which was determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay. All three cell types were able to induce bispecific activity. Some bispecific activity was also observed in Optimem serum free medium, but this activity was much lower than observed in the presence of blood cells. None of the tested cells was able to exchange IgGl half molecules. Example 27: Evaluation of IgG4 exchange by human and murine cell lines
Chimeric IgG4 antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with three different cell lines (i.e. Human Embryo Kidney (HEK) cells, murine B cells or hybridomas) to investigate IgG4 exchange activity. Cell line J558 (provided by the Antigen Presentation Research Group of
Sanquin) was chosen as a source of murine B cells. Hybridomas, which produce an anti-Cl esterase inhibitor, were obtained from the Autoimmune Research Group of Sanquin. Suspension HEK (293F) cells were from Invitrogen, Breda, The Netherlands. All cells were washed three times with PBS, after which the cells were resuspended in PBS.
The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating an IgG4 antibody mixture consisting of Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (2 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (2 μg) with the aforementioned cells. The antibody mixture was incubated with 24xlO5 HEK cells, 25xlO5 murine B cells or 2IxIO5 hybridomas in a total volume of 50 μl (final concentration for each antibody was 80 μg/ml) on a horizontal orbital shaker (125 rpm) at 37°C. After Oh and 24h the incubation mixtures were centrifuged for 1 min at 2800 rpm in an Eppendorf centrifuge, after which a sample was drawn in PBS-AT (PBS supplemented with 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3). Samples were stored, if necessary, at 4°C. Bispecific activity (i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity) was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay. In this assay, sample dilutions were incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled recombinant FeI d 1 in a total volume of 300 μl in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 μg/ml IVIg). Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
In Figure 7 bispecific activity is shown as percentage bound 125I-labeled Bet v 1, which was determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay. All three cell types were able to exchange IgG4 half molecules.
Example 28: Evaluation of IgG4 half molecule exchange by erythrocytes.
Chimeric antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with human erythrocytes to investigate the exchange of IgG4 half molecules. Erythrocytes were purified from a single donor and stored at 4°C in SAGM (Saline Adenine Glucose Mannitol) buffer. Before use the cells were washed three times with PBS. In this experiment the exchange of IgG4 half molecules was compared with the exchange of IgGl. Also, the exchange of IgG4 in the presence of excess irrelevant IgG4 was evaluated. The following antibodies mixtures were prepared in PBS: - Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (4 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (4 μg)
Bet v 1 specific IgGl (4 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgGl (4 μg) Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (4 μg), FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (4 μg) and irrelevant IgG4 specific for antigen X (80 μg)
These mixtures were incubated with erythrocytes in PBS supplemented with 0.05% (w/v) NaN3 in a total volume of 100 μl (final hematocrit was around ~40%) and subsequently incubated on a horizontal orbital shaker (125 rpm) at 37°C. At indicated time points the erythrocytes were centrifuged for 1 min at 2800 rpm in an
Eppendorf centrifuge, after which a sample of 10 μl was drawn in 500 μl PBS-AT
(PBS supplemented with 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3). Samples were stored at 4°C before measuring bispecific activity, bivalency and antigen binding. As a control the same mixtures were also incubated in
PBS without erythrocytes.
Levels of Bet v 1 binding antibodies were measured in the antigen binding test. To this end, samples were incubated with 0.75 mg of protein G Sepharose (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden) in 750 μl PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 μg/ml IVIg) in the presence of 125I-labeled Bet v 1 for 24h. Next, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T (PBS supplemented with 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured. The concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific antibodies as a standard (range 0-200 ng per test as determined by nephelometer). Bispecific activity in experiments using FeI d 1 and Bet v 1 specific antibodies was measured in the Feldl-Betvl cross-linking assay. In this assay, IgG containing sample was incubated for 24h with Sepharose- coupled cat extract (0.5 mg) in a total volume of 300 μl in PBS-AT. Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured. The concentration of bispecific IgG (Feldl-Betvl) was calculated using purified IgGl- Betvl as a standard (obtained in Bet v 1 binding test using Prot G sepharose). In Figure 8 data obtained from the erythrocyte-mediated exchange are presented. No exchange of IgGl half molecules was observed in the presence of erythocytes, whereas about maximum exchange of IgG4 half molecules was observed after 72h (panel A) (note: if equal amounts of IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl are exchanged, at most 50% of the IgG4-Betvl half-antibodies will be incorporated in the bispecific fraction after random and complete exchange of half-antibodies). In the presence of excess irrelevant IgG4 almost no exchange of IgG4 half molecules was measured, which is in line with the expected exchange of Bet v 1 and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 with irrelevant IgG4. Size-exclusion chromatography was performed to exclude the possibility that bispecific activity observed in the IgG4 mix was the result of IgG aggregation. For this purpose, a sample (drawn at t=72h) was fractionated on a Superdex200 column, after which FeI d 1 binding IgG and Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross- linking IgG were measured in the fractions. FeI d 1 binding antibodies eluted in one peak with a retention volume of ~12.9 ml, which corresponds to the retention volume of monomeric IgG. The heterologous Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the same fractions indicating that bispecific activity was associated with monomeric IgG (data not shown).
In theory, the exchange of IgG4 half molecules is also associated with a decrease in bivalency. To test this, bivalency in the incubation mixtures was measured. Almost no reduction of FeI d 1 bivalency was observed in the IgGl mix, whereas a reduction of ~50% was observed in the IgG4 mix. This reduction is in agreement with the maximal exchange of two different IgG4 molecules mixed in a 1 to 1 ratio. As expected, the reduction of bivalency in the IgG4 mix with excess irrelevant IgG4 was higher (~80%), which is due to the low probability of rehybridisation of two homologous half molecules (Bet v 1 or FeI dl specific) in the presence of excess irrelevant IgG4 half molecules. The strong reduction in bivalency was not the result of loss of antigen binding during the incubation, because the antigen binding was only slightly (~10%) decreased after 72h of incubation (data not shown).
The exchange of IgG in PBS (supplemented with 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) was also evaluated to investigate whether IgG4 half molecules can be exchanged spontaneously. The set-up of this experiment was similar to the exchange in the presence of erythrocytes with the exception that no erythrocytes were added. No spontaneous exchange of IgGl or IgG4 half molecules was observed during the incubation in PBS at 37°C as is demonstrated Fig. 9A. However, some background was observed in the IgG4 mix, which was also present during the incubation with erythrocytes. No decrease of bivalency was observed during the incubation in PBS (figure 9B).
Example 29: Evaluation of IgG4 exchange by erythrocyte lysate
Chimeric IgG4 antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with increasing dilutions of erythrocyte lysate. Erythrocytes were isolated from a healthy donor and stored at 4°C in SAGM (Saline Adenine Glucose Mannitol) buffer with a hematocrit of 60.7%. To obtain lysate the cells were washed three times with PBS- Azide (PBS supplemented with 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) and resuspended in water with a volume that was two fold higher than the volume of the storage buffer. As a result, undiluted erythrocyte lysate was equivalent to a hematocrit of 30%.
The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating an IgG4 antibody mixture consisting of Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (1 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (1 μg) with 50 μl of freshly prepared lysate (supplemented with PBS/ Azide to a total volume of 100 μl) at 37°C. Final concentration of each antibody was 10 μg/ml. At indicated time points a sample was drawn from the incubation mix in PBS-AT (PBS supplemented with 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) to measure bispecific activity. Samples were stored, if necessary, at 4°C. Bispecific activity (i.e. Bet v 1-FeI d 1 cross-linking activity) was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay. In this assay, sample dilutions were incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled birch extract in a total volume of 300 μl in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 μg/ml IVIg). Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125I-labeled FeI d 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured. The concentration of bispecific IgG (Bet v 1-FeI d 1) was calculated using the calibration curve of the FeI d 1 binding test, which was obtained from purified FeI d 1 binding rlgG.
In Figure 10 generation of bispecific activity in time is shown as percentage bound 125I-labeled FeI d 1, which was determined in the heterologous cross-linking assay. From these data it is evident that lysate of erythrocytes contains exchange activity. Highest exchange rate was observed in undiluted lysate, whereas higher dilutions resulted in lower exchange rates. Practically no bispecific activity was observed in the control incubation in PBS. Size-exclusion chromatography was performed to exclude the possibility that bispecific activity induced by erythrocyte lysate was the result of IgG aggregation (Figure 11). For this purpose, an incubation mixture was prepared consisting of 10 μg Bet v 1 binding IgG4, 10 μg FeI d 1 binding IgG4 and 50 μl erythrocyte lysate, which was supplemented with PBS/Azide to final volume of 100 μl. This mixture was incubated at 37°C for 24h, after which 70 μl was fractionated on a Superdex200 column. In the fractions Bet v 1 binding IgG and FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking IgG were measured. Levels of Bet v 1 binding antibodies were measured in the antigen binding test. Samples were incubated with 0.75 mg of protein G Sepharose (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden) in 750 μl PBS-IAT (PBS supplemented with 1 μg/ml IVIg, 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) in the presence of 125I-labeled Bet v 1 for 24h. Next, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T (PBS supplemented with 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured. The concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific antibodies as a standard (range 0-200 ng per test as determined by nephelometer). The concentration of bispecific IgG (i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity) was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay. In this assay, a sample was incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled cat extract, in which FeI d 1 antigen is present, in a total volume of 300 μl in PBS-IAT. Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured. The concentration of bispecific IgG (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) was calculated using the same calibration curve as used in the Bet v 1 binding test, which was obtained from purified Bet v 1 binding rlgG.
Bet v 1 binding antibodies eluted in one peak with a retention volume of ~12.6 ml, which corresponds to the retention volume of monomeric IgG (Fig 11). The heterologous FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the same fractions indicating that bispecific activity was associated with monomeric IgG.
Example 30: Evaluation of IgG4 exchange activity in dialysed erythrocyte lysate
Erythrocytes were isolated from a healthy donor and stored at 4°C in SAGM
(Saline Adenine Glucose Mannitol) buffer with a hematocrit of 60.7%. To obtain lysate the cells were washed three times with PBS-Azide (PBS supplemented with 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) and resuspended in water with a volume that was two-fold higher than the volume of the storage buffer. Therefore, undiluted erythrocyte lysate was equivalent to a hematocrit of 30%. Part of the lysate was dialysed against PBS- Azide using a dialysis membrane cassette from Pierce (3.5 kD cut-off). Ultrafiltrate was obtained by centrifugation of non-dialysed lysate in an Amicon filter (3.5 kD cutoff).
The exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating an IgG4 antibody mixture (Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (0.5 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (0.5 μg) with freshly prepared erythrocyte lysate (25 μl) or dialysed lysate (25 μl) at 37°C. Total volume of each incubation was 50 μl resulting in a final concentration of 10 μg/ml for each antibody. The following supplements were used : reduced glutathione (GSH) from Sigma, Glucose-6-phospate (G-6-P) and NADPH (both from Roche). These compounds were dissolved in water before use. After 24h of incubation a sample was drawn from the incubation mix in PBS-AT (PBS supplemented with 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) to measure bispecific activity. Samples were stored, if necessary, at 4°C.
Bispecific activity (i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity) was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay. In this assay, sample dilutions were incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled cat extract in a total volume of 300 μl in PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 μg/ml IVIg). Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured.
The exchange levels were compared with the bispecific activity generated by freshly prepared lysate (Table 2).
Table 2. Overview of factors that restore bispecific activity in dialysed erythrocyte lysates. Exchange activity of dialysed erythrocyte lysate was compared with freshly prepared lysate. Dialysed lysate was supplemented with 5 Dl of ultrafiltrate. Final concentrations of G-6-P, NADPH and GSH were 5 mM, 0.1 mM and 0.5 mM, respectively.
From these data it is evident that the activity of erythrocyte lysate was lost after dialysis. Addition of ultrafiltrate restored the exchange for a large part. This result suggested that during dialysis a component (<3.5 kD) was lost, which is essential for the exchange reaction. Such a component is likely to be involved in the redox cycle, because disulfide bridge reduction and oxidation is required for the exchange of IgG4 half molecules. Therefore, three "co-factors" (G-6-P, NADPH and GSH) of the redox cycle were added to dialysed lysate to investigate whether these compounds could restore the exchange activity. The exchange activity could be restored if G-6-P, NADPH and GSH were supplemented together. Incubation of dialysed lysate in the presence of separate factors revealed that the exchange activity was restored by GSH, but not by G-6-P or NADPH.
Example 31: Evaluation of IgG4 half molecule exchange by reduced glutathione Chimeric antibodies were mixed and subsequently incubated with reduced glutathione (GSH) to investigate the exchange of IgG4 half molecules. GSH (Sigma- Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) was solved in water before use.
In this experiment the exchange of IgG4 half molecules was evaluated by incubating an IgG4 antibody mixture consisting of Bet v 1 specific IgG4 (1 μg) and FeI d 1 specific IgG4 (1 μg) in PBS/Azide containing GSH at 37°C. Total incubation volume was 100 μl resulting in a final concentration of 10 μg/ml for each antibody. At indicated time points a sample was drawn from the incubation mixture in PBS-AT (PBS supplemented with 0.3% bovine serum albumin, 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3). Samples were stored at 4°C for measuring of antigen binding and bispecific activity
Levels of Bet v 1 binding antibodies were measured in the antigen binding test. Samples were incubated with 0.75 mg of protein G Sepharose (Amersham Biosciences, Uppsala, Sweden) in 750 μl PBS-IAT (PBS-AT supplemented with 1 μg/ml IVIg) in the presence of 125I-labeled Bet v 1 for 24h. Next, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T (PBS supplemented with 0.1% Tween-20 and 0.05% (w/v) NaN3) and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured. The concentration of Bet v 1 specific IgG was calculated using purified Bet v 1 specific antibodies as a standard (range 0-200 ng per test as determined by nephelometer). The concentration of bispecific IgG (i.e. FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity) was measured in the heterologous cross-linking assay. In this assay, a sample was incubated for 24h with 0.5 mg Sepharose-coupled cat extract, in which FeI d 1 antigen is present, in a total volume of 300 μl in PBS-IAT. Subsequently, the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and incubated for 24h with 125I-labeled Bet v 1, after which the Sepharose was washed with PBS-T and the amount of radioactivity bound relative to the amount of radioactivity added was measured. The concentration of bispecific IgG (FeI d 1-Bet v 1) was calculated using the same calibration curve as used in the Bet v 1 binding test, which was obtained from purified Bet v 1 binding IgG.
In Figure 12 time courses of GSH mediated exchange of IgG4 half molecules are presented. From these data it is clear that IgG4 half molecules are exchanged in the presence of GSH. In this experiment optimal exchange was observed between 0.1 and 1 mM GSH and highest exchange (~90%) was reached after 24h using 0.5 mM GSH.
Size-exclusion chromatography was performed to exclude the possibility that bispecific activity observed after GSH mediated exchange of IgG4 was the result of
IgG aggregation (Fig. 13). For this purpose, a mixture of Bet v 1 binding IgG4 and
FeI d 1 binding IgG4 (10 μg of each antibody) was incubated with 0.5 mM GSH in
PBS/Azide. This mixture (final volume 100 μl) was incubated at 37°C for 24h, after which 70 μl was fractionated on a Superdex200 column. In the fractions Bet v 1 binding IgG and FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking IgG were measured. Bet v 1 binding antibodies eluted in one peak with a retention volume of ~12.6 ml, which corresponds to the retention volume of monomeric IgG. The heterologous FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the same fractions indicating that bispecific activity was associated with monomeric IgG. The generation of bispecific IgG4 molecules in the presence of GSH was found to be temperature dependent, as . exchange occurred more efficiently at 37°C than at 4°C (Fig 14).
Example 32. Generation of bispecific IgG in the presence of other agents.
IgGl-Betvl and IgGl-FeIdI or IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl were mixed at a final concentration of 10 μg/ml for antibody and incubated with reducing agents in a total volume of 50 μl. Apart from GSH the following agents were tested (final concentration in incubation mixture): L-cysteine was from Sigma (100 μM), dithiothreitol (DTT) was from Biorad (50 μM), β-mercapto-ethanol (BME) was from Biorad (100 μM) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG, note that of the panel of agents this agent is not reducing, while all others are) was from Sigma (100 μM). The mixtures were incubated at 37°C for 24h and samples were drawn in PBS/AT, in which the (bi)specific IgG concentrations were measured. Figure 15 shows that the addition of GSH or other reducing agents (but not of GSSG) to a mixture of purified IgG4-Betvl and IgG4-Feldl was sufficient to induce Fab arm exchange and the generation of bispecific IgG4. In contrast, no bispecific reactivity was induced in the control IgGl mixture.
Example 33. Exchange of fully human IgG4 antibodies using GSH.
IgGl-CD20, IgG4-CD20, IgGl-EGFr and IgG4-EGFr were mixed and incubated with GSH in a total volume of 1 ml. Final concentration of each antibody was 50 μg/ml; the final concentration of GSH was 0.5 mM. The mixtures were incubated at 37°C for 24h and samples were drawn in PBS-AT, in which the (bi)specific IgG concentrations were measured.
Bispecific activity was determined using a sandwich ELISA. For this assay an ELISA plate (Greiner bio-one, Frickenhausen, Germany) was coated overnight with 1 μg/ml (lOOμl/well) of recombinant extracellular domain of EGFR in PBS at 4 0C. The plate was washed 3 times with PBS/0.05 % Tween 20 (PBT). Samples were diluted in PBT/0.2 % BSA (PBTB) and transferred to the ELISA plate (100 μl/well). After incubation on a plate shaker (300 rpm) for 90 minutes at room temperature (RT), samples were discarded and the plate was washed 3 times with PBT. Next, 100 μl of the mouse anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody 2F2 SABl.1 (directed against the anti- CD20 antibody 7D8; Genmab) at 2 μg/ml in PBTB was added and incubated at RT for 90 minutes at a plate shaker (300 rpm). The anti-idiotypic antibody was discarded and the plate was washed 3 times with PBT, followed by the addition of 100 μl/well of a HRP conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG (Jackson ImmunoResearch Laboratories, Westgrove, PA, USA) at a 100Ox dilution in PBTB and incubation at RT for 90 minutes at a plate shaker (300 rpm). The detection antibody was discarded and the plate was washed 3 times with PBT. A 50 mg ABTS tablet (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany) was dissolved in ABTS buffer (Roche) and added to the ELISA plate (100 μl/well). The ELISA plate was incubated for 30 min (or longer if desired) at RT on a plate shaker (300 rpm) covered with aluminum foil and the reaction was stopped with 100 μl oxalic acid (Riedel de Haen Seelze, Germany) per well. The ELISA plate was left at RT for 10 minutes before reading absorbance at 405 nm in an ELISA plate reader. Figure 16A shows that bispecific anti-EGFR/CD20 antibodies formed in time upon incubation of the mixture of IgG4-EGFr and IgG4-CD20 in the presence, but not in the absence, of GSH. Fab arm exchange did not occur in a mixture of IgGl antibodies, neither in the presence or absence of GSH.
To explore the dynamic range of GSH mediated exchange of IgG4 half molecules, a full concentration curve of GSH (0.5-1,000 μM) was used to analyze exchange. IgG4-CD20 and IgG4-EGFr were mixed and incubated with GSH in a total volume of 1 ml. Final concentration of each antibody was 50 μg/ml; the final concentration of GSH were as indicated in Figure 16B. The mixtures were incubated at 37°C for 24h and samples were drawn in PBS-AT, in which the (bi)specific IgG concentrations were measured.
Figure 16B shows a clear GSH-dose dependence of IgG4 half molecule exchange. To explore how reaction components influence the GSH-mediated IgG4 half molecule exchange, exchange was tested in PBS and serum- and protein free, chemically defined medium (Freestyle 293 expression medium, GIBCO/Invitrogen Corporation). It was found that in this tissue culture medium, GSH-mediated exchange occurs at lower GSH-concentrations (Figure 16C). It was also found that there is an optimum in GSH-mediated IgG4 half molecule exchange, as incubation with 5 mM GSH clearly resulted in lower exchange that with 0.5 mM (Figure 16D).
A mixture of IgG4-EGFr and IgG4-CD20 was incubated for 24 h in the absence or presence of GSH and evaluated by mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS). Fifty μl samples containing 200 μg/ml of each antibody were deglycosylated overnight with 1 μl N-glycosidase F (Roche Diagnostics NL BV, Almere, The Netherlands). Samples were desalted on an Acquity UPLC™ (Waters, Milford, USA) with a BEH C8, 1.7μm, 2.1x 50 mm column at 60 0C. Five μl was injected and eluted with a gradient from 5% to 95% eluent B. Eluent A was MiIIiQ water (Millipore Synthesis AlO apparatus) and eluent B was LC-MS grade acetonitrile (Biosolve, Valkenswaard, The Netherlands). Both eluents contained 0.05% formic acid as organic modifier (Fluka Riedel-de Haen, Buchs, Germany). Time-of-flight electrospray ionization mass spectra were recorded on-line on a micrOTOF™ mass spectrometer (Bruker, Bremen, Germany) operating in the positive ion mode. In each analysis, a 500-5000 m/z scale was internally calibrated with ES tuning mix (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, USA). Mass spectra were deconvoluted by using the Maximum Entropy algorithm, which is provided with DataAnalysis™ software v. 3.3 (Bruker). Figure 16E shows that the molecular weights of IgG4-CD20 (145.5 kD) and
IgG4-EGFR (145.9 kD) remained unchanged in the absence of GSH. In the presence of GSH (Fig. 16F), however, a new peak with a mass corresponding to a Fab arm exchanged molecule appeared (145.7 kD). The novel mass corresponded to the expected mass of the bispecific anti-EGFR/CD20 antibody. Moreover, from the peak heights of the MS spectra it could be estimated that the bispecific antibody represented 50% of the total antibody mass in the mixture indicating a random exchange which reached equilibrium within 24 hours.
Example 34. Polyclonal immunoglobulins from Rhesus monkey (and other species) participate in Fab arm exchange of recombinant human IgG4 antibodies.
Mixtures of two recombinant human IgG4 antibodies (IgG4-CD20 and IgG4- EGFr, as described above) were incubated with GSH for 24h at 37°C, in the presence or absence of purified immunoglobulins from rhesus monkeys (6x), chimpanzees (2x), cynomolgous monkeys, Baboons, horse and swine or human IVIg. The formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA as described above. Additionally, goat, rabbit and sheep immunoglobulins were tested in this assay.
Figure 17a shows that rhesus monkey polyclonal immunoglobulins compare to human polyclonal immunoglobulins (IVIg) in their ability to inhibit the exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant antibodies in vitro in the presence of reduced glutathione. This means that a component of rhesus immunoglobulin, participates in Fab arm exchange. Rhesus immunoglobulin, presumably rhesus IgG4, can exchange Fab arm with recombinant human IgG4. Figure 17b shows that polyclonal immunoglobulins from several other rhesus monkeys inhibit the exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant antibodies in vitro in the presence of reduced glutathione with different potencies. This means that the component of rhesus immunoglobulin that participates in Fab arm exchange, is present in different concentrations or that the component is not present in all Rhesus monkeys. Figure 17c shows that polyclonal immunoglobulins from several other monkey species (baboon, chimpanzee, cynomolgous) as well as immunoglobulins from horse and swine inhibit the exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant antibodies in vitro in the presence of reduced glutathione with different potencies. This means that the component that participates in Fab arm exchange is present in these species at different concentrations. Goat, rabbit and sheep immunoglobulins had no effect on the exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant antibodies in vitro in the presence of reduced glutathione (data not shown).
Example 35. Half molecule exchange of hinge region or CH3 domain mutants Three IgGl mutants were made: an IgGl with an IgG4 core-hinge (IgGl-
CPSC) and two CH3 domain swap mutants (IgGl-CH3(IgG4) and IgGl-CPSC- CH3(IgG4).
Site directed mutagenesis was used to introduce a P228S mutation in the hinge of IgGl using pEE-Gl-wt a Bet v 1 as a template (228 refers to the EU numbering of antibody amino acid residues. The same position has number 241 in the Kabat numbering, and number 111 in SEQ ID NO: 19 (third position in the CPPC core-hinge sequence)). Mutagenic primers, forward and reverse, were designed with Vector NTI Advance 10:
P228S Mut primer-F: SEQ ID NO:22 P228S Mut primer-R: SEQ ID NO:23
P228S Mut primer- F 5'-CTTgTgACAAAACTCACAC■CTgCCCATCgTgCCCAggTAAgCCAg-3'
P228S Mut pnmer-R y -CTggCTTACCTgggCACgATgggCAggTgTgAgTTTTgTCACAAg- 3'
Quickchange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene) was used to create the pEE-Gl-CPSC mutant. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) mix consisted of 5 μl pEE-Gl a Betvl DNA template (~35 ng), 1,5 μl mutagenic primer-forward (~150 ng), 1,5 μl mutagenic primer-reverse (~150 ng), 1 μl dNTP mix, 5 μl reaction buffer (1Ox), 36 μl H2O and finally 1 μl Pfu Turbo DNA polymerase. Then the mix was applied to the PCR: 30" 95°C, 30" 95°C (denaturating), 1' 55°C (annealing) and 17 minutes 68°C (elongating). This cycle was repeated 20 times.
DNA digesting and ligation was used to create CH3 domain swap mutant constructs IgGl-CH3(IgG4) and IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4). Digestion reactions to obtain CH3 domains and vectors without CH3 domains were as follows: ~1500 ng DNA (pEE-Gl-betvl, pEE-Gl-CPSC and pEE-G4-betvl), 2 μl BSA, 2 μl Neb3 buffer, 1 μl Sail and H2O added to a volume of 20 μl. Incubation at 37°C for 30'. DNA was purified and eluted with 30 μl H2O before 1 μl SanDI and 3 μl universal buffer was added and incubated at 37°C for 30'. Fragments were subjected to gel electrophoresis on 1% agarose gels with ethidium bromide. Fragments were cut from the gel under ultraviolet light and dissolved using a DNA purification kit (Amersham). The pEE-G4-wt Sall/SanDI (which contained IgG4 CH3 domain) fragment was ligated into pEE-Gl-wt and pEE-Gl-CPSC using following procedure: 1 μl template DNA (Sall/SanDI digested pEE-Gl-wt and pEE-Gl-CPSC), 5 μl Sall/SanDI insert, 4 μl Ligate-it buffer, 9 μl H2O and 1 μl ligase in a total volume of 20 μl. Ligation was stopped after 5'.
DNA digestion (using Apal and Hindlll) and ligation was used to replace the VH domain of the bet v 1 mutant antibodies with that of pEE-G4-a-feldl wt, following a similar procedure as above. Also, one IgG4 mutant was made: IgG4-S228Pnew. In this mutant, the hinge is stabilized by replacing serine at position 228 (position 111 in SEQ ID NO: 19) for a proline (IgGl core hinge). Site-directed mutagenesis was performed using the QuickChange II XL Site-Directed Mutagenesis Kit (Stratagene, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) according to the manufacturer's instructions. This method included the introduction of a silent extra Xmal site to screen for successful mutagenesis. Briefly, 5 μl 10x reaction buffer, 1 μl oligonucleotide S228Pfcorrect (100 pmol/μl), 1 μl oligonucleotide S228Prcorrect (100 pmol/μl), 1 μl dNTP mix, 3 μl Quicksolution, 1 μl plasmid pTomG42F8HG (50 ng/μl) (described in PCT application entitled "Recombinant monovalent antibodies and methods for production thereof", filed on 28 Nov 2006 (RO/DK (Genrπab)) and 1 μl PfuUltra HF DNA polymerase were mixed in a total volume of 50 μl and amplified with a TGradient Thermocycler 96 (Whatman Biometra, Goettingen, Germany; product* 050-801) using an 18-cycle program: denaturing at 95°C for 1 min; 18 cycles of 95°C for 50 sec, 600C for 50 sec, and 68°C for 10 min. PCR mixtures were stored at 4°C until further processing. Next, PCR mixtures were incubated with 1 μl Dpnl for 60 min at 37°C to digest the pTomG42F8HG vector and stored at 4°C until further processing. The reaction mixture was precipitated with 5 μl 3 M NaAc and 125 μl Ethanol, incubated for 20 minutes at -200C and spun down for 20 minutes at 4°C at 14000xg. The DNA pellet was washed with 70% ethanol, dried and dissolved in 4 μl water. The total 4 μl reaction volume was transformed in One Shot DNH5α T1R competent E. coli cells (Invitrogen, Breda, The Netherlands) according to the manufacturer's instructions (Invitrogen). Next, cells were plated on Luria-Bertani (LB) agar plates containing 50 μg/ml ampicillin. Plates were incubated for 16-18 hours at 37°C until bacterial colonies became evident.
After screening by colony PCR and Xmal (mutagenesis will result in the loss of a Xmal site) digestion, plasmid was isolated from the bacteria and the mutation was confirmed by DNA sequencing. To check if no unwanted extra mutations were introduced the whole HC coding region was sequenced and did not contain any additional mutations. The final construct was named pTomG42F8S228PNew.
Recombinant antibodies from these constructs were transiently expressed in
HEK 293 cells in 3 ml, 6-wells plates (NUNC) or in 125 ml erlenmeyers (Corning) with 293 Fectin (Invitrogen) as transfection reagent.
The following mixtures of unpurified antibodies (Freestyle 293 expression medium, GIBCO/Invitrogen Corporation) were incubated with 0.1 mM GSH at 37°C for 24h and samples were drawn in PBS-AT, in which the (bi)specific IgG concentrations were measured as described in previous examples:
- IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt
- IgGl a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt - IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC (indicated as IgGl CPSC - IgGl
CPSC below)
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4) (IgGl CPSC - IgGl CH3(IgG4))
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) (IgGl CPSC - IgGl CPSC/CH3(IgG4))
- IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4) (IgGl CH3(IgG4) - IgGl CH3(IgG4))
- IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) (IgGl CH3(IgG4) - IgGl CPSC/CH3(IgG4)) - IgGl a-feldl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) with a-betvl IgGl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) (IgGl
CPSC/CH3(IgG4) - IgGl CPSC/CH3(IgG4)) - IgGl a-feldl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) with IgG4 a-betvl wt (IgGl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) - IgG4 wt
- IgG4 a-betl S228Pnew with IgG4 wt
The results showed that under these in vitro conditions (0.1 mM GSH), half molecule exchange occurs when one of the antibodies contains the CPSC hinge and both antibodies contain an IgG4-like CH3. Also, half molecule exchange occurs between an IgG4 molecule containing an IgGl hinge and IgG4 wt molecules:
- = no exchange + = exchange occurs ± = limited exchange (~5%)
Blank square = not tested
The effect of GSH concentration on the half molecule exchange from the different mutants was tested using 0, 0.1, 1 and 10 mM GSH. Exchange was tested using the following mixtures: - IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt
- IgGl a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC
- IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4)
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) with a-betvl IgGl CPSC/CH3(IgG4)) For GSH concentrations up to 1 mM, the results (figure 19A) confirmed those described above. At 10 mM GSH, half molecule exchange was also seen in the reaction containing IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) and IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4).
Size-exclusion chromatography was performed to exclude the possibility that bispecific activity observed after GSH mediated exchange of the appropriate IgGl mutants was the result of IgG aggregation as described in previous examples. The heterologous FeI d 1-Bet v 1 cross-linking activity was detected in the fractions corresponding to the retention volume of monomeric IgG. To identify amino-acid residues in the CH3 domain responsible for the ability to exchange half-molecules, IgG4-like residues were introduced into the CH3 of IgGl at positions that differ between IgGl and IgG4. Thus R238Q, K292R, Q302E or P328L mutations (numbers refer to SEQ ID NO: 19) were introduced in the CH3 domain of IgGl using pEE-Gl-wt a Bet v 1 or pEE-Gl-wt a FeI d 1 as a template, basically as described above. Moreover a K292R mutation was also introduced into the CH3 domain of IgGl CPSC using the pEE-Gl-CPSC betvl or pEE-Gl-CPSC feldl as a template. In short, mutagenic primers, forward and reverse, were designed with Vector NTI Advance 10. Quickchange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene) was used to create the constructs. Recombinant antibodies from these constructs were transiently expressed in HEK 293 cells in 3 ml, 6-wells plates (NUNC) or in 125 ml erlenmeyers (Corning) with 293 Fectin (Invitrogen) as transfection reagent. The following mixtures of unpurified antibodies (Freestyle 293 expression medium, GIBCO/Invitrogen Corporation) were incubated with 0.5 or 5 mM GSH at 370C for 24h and samples were drawn in PBS-AT, in which the (bi)specific IgG concentrations were measured as described in previous examples:
- IgGl a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl in Fig 19B)
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CPSC in Fig 19B)
- IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-CH3(G4) in Fig 19B)
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl- CPSC/CH3(G4) in Fig 19B)
- IgGl a-feldl R238Q with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-R238Q in Fig 19B) - IgGl a-feldl K292R with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-K292R in Fig
19B)
- IgGl a-feldl Q302E with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-Q302E in Fig 19B)
- IgGl a-feldl P328L with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl-P328L in Fig 19B)
- IgGl a-feldl CPSC/K292R with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl- CPSC/K292R in Fig 19B)
- IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4 in Fig 19B)
- IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl in Fig 19C) - IgGl a-feldl CPSC with IgGl a-betvl CPSC (indicated as IgGl-CPSC in Fig 19C)
- IgGl a-feldl CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl- CH3(G4) in Fig 19C) - IgGl a-feldl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) with IgGl a-betvl CPSC/CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC/CH3(G4) in Fig 19C)
- IgGl a-feldl R238Q with IgGl a-betvl R238Q (indicated as IgGl-R238Q in Fig 19C)
- IgGl a-feldl K292R with IgGl a-betvl K292R (indicated as IgGl-K292R in Fig 19C)
- IgGl a-feldl Q302E with IgGl a-betvl Q302E (indicated as IgGl-Q302E in Fig 19C)
- IgGl a-feldl P328L with IgGl a-betvl P328L (indicated as IgGl-P328L in Fig 19C) - IgGl a-feldl CPSC/K292R with IgGl a-betvl CPSC/K292R (indicated as IgGl-
CPSC/K292R in Fig 19C)
- IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4 in Fig 19C)
The results showed that under the tested in vitro conditions (0.5 mM and 5 mM GSH), half molecule exchange occurs when both antibodies contain an R at position 292 (Fig 19B+C). An R or Q at position 238, an Q or E at position 302 and a
P or L at position 328 do not influence the inability of and IgGl to exchange half molecules in this experimental set up.
Example 36. At 0.5 mM GSH, IgG4 molecules with a stabilized, IgGl-like core-hinge do not participate in Fab-arm exchange reaction of recombinant human IgG4 antibodies.
Mixtures of two recombinant human IgG4 antibodies (IgG4-CD20 and IgG4- EGFr, as described above) were incubated with 0.5 mM GSH for 24h at 37°C, in the presence or absence of an excess (10, 50 and 100 micrograms/ml) of Tysabri or (10 micrograms/ml) of Mylotarg. Tysabri is a commercially available humanized IgG4 antibody containing a wild-type IgG4 core-hinge, while Mylotarg is a commercially available humanized IgG4 antibody containing a stabilized, IgGl-like core-hinge. The formation of bispecific antibodies through Fab-arm exchange was measured in a sandwich ELISA as described above. Figure 2OA shows that in the presence of an excess of Tysabri exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant CD20 and EGFr antibodies was inhibited.
Figure 2OB shows that in the presence of an excess of Tysabri, but not Mylotarg, exchange of Fab arms of the recombinant CD20 and EGFr antibodies was inhibited.
This indicates that Tysabri, but not Mylotarg, participates in the Fab arm exchange reaction and that a stabilized, IgGl-like core-hinge does not participate in Fab-arm exchange under in vitro conditions where 0.5 mM GSH is used.
Example 37. Half molecule exchange of IgGl-CPSC constructs with additional mutations at position 292
Similar to Example 35, three IgGl mutants were made in both pConGlf2F8 (specific for EGFR) and pConGlf7D8 (specific for CD20): an IgGl with an IgG4 core- hinge (IgGl-CPSC) and two CH3 domain swap mutants (IgGl-CH3(IgG4) and IgGl- CPSC-CH3(IgG4) (i.e. constructs in which the CH3 region of IgGl was replaced by the CH3 region of IgG4).. This resulted in the following constructs pGlf-2F8CPSC, pGlf-7D8CPSC, pGlf-2F8-CH3(G4), pGlf-7D8-CH3(G4), pGlf-2F8CPSC-CH3(G4) and pGlf-7D8CPSC-CH3(G4)
Subsequently R238Q, K292R, K292Y, K292F, K292W, Q302E or P328L mutations (see SEQ ID NO: 19) were introduce in the CH3 domain of both the pGlf- 2F8CPSC and pGlf-7D8CPSC constructs, basically as desribed above. In short, mutagenic primers, forward and reverse, were designed with Vector NTI Advance 10. Quickchange site-directed mutagenesis kit (Stratagene) was used to create the constructs.
Recombinant antibodies from these constructs were transiently expressed in HEK 293 cells in 3 ml, 6-wells plates (NUNC) or in 125 ml erlenmeyers (Corning) with 293 Fectin (Invitrogen) as transfection reagent. The culture supernatants were subsequently dialysed against PBS and concentration was measured by nephelometry (see above). The following mixtures of unpurified buffer exchanged antibodies were incubated with 0.5 GSH at 37°C for 24h and samples were drawn in PBS-AT, in which the (bi)specific IgG concentrations were measured as described in previous examples:
- IgGl-2F8 wt with IgGl-7D8 wt (indicated as IgGl)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC with IgGl-7D8-CPSC (indicated as IgGl-CPSC)
- IgGl-2F8-CH3(IgG4) with IgGl-7D8-CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl- CH3(IgG4)) - IgGl-2F8-CPSC-CH3(IgG4) with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-CH3(IgG4) (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-CH3(IgG4))
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-R238Q with IgGlτ7D8-CPSC-R238Q (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-R238Q) - IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292R with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292R (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-
K292R)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292Y with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292Y (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292Y)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292F with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292F (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- K292F)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-K292W with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-K292W (indicated as IgGl- CPSC-K292W)
- IgGl-2F8-CPSC-Q302E with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-Q302E (indicated as IgGl-CPSC- Q302E) - IgGl-2F8-CPSC-P328L with IgGl-7D8-CPSC-P328L (indicated as IgGl-CPSC-
P328L)
IgG4-2F8 wt with IgG4-7D8 wt (indicated as IgG4)
Fig. 21 shows that under the tested in vitro conditions (0.5 mM), half molecule exchange occurs when a CPSC hinge is present and an R at position 292. Additionally, the results show that a Y or F at position 292, but not a W, also facilitates half molecule exchange albeit to a lesser extent. An R or Q at position 238, an Q or E at position 302 and a P or L at position 328 do not influence the inability of and IgGl-CPSC to exchange half molecules.
Example 38 IgG4 molecules with stabilized CPPC hinge can Fab-arm exchange in vitro (with 5 mM GSH), but not in vivo
A mixture of IgG4-EGFR-CPPC and IgG4-CD20 was incubated for 24 h in the presence of 5 mM GSH and evaluated by mass spectrometry (ESI-TOF MS). Fifty μl samples containing 200 μg/ml of each antibody were deglycosylated overnight with 1 μl N-glycosidase F (Roche Diagnostics NL BV, Almere, The Netherlands). Samples were desalted on an Acquity UPLC™ (Waters, Milford, USA) with a BEH C8, 1.7μm, 2.1x 50 mm column at 60 0C. Five μl was injected and eluted with a gradient from 5% to 95% eluent B. Eluent A was MiIIiQ water (Millipore Synthesis AlO apparatus) and eluent B was LC-MS grade acetonitrile (Biosolve, Valkenswaard, The Netherlands). Both eluents contained 0.05% formic acid as organic modifier (Fluka Riedel-de Haen, Buchs, Germany). Time-of-flight electrospray ionization mass spectra were recorded on-line on a micrOTOF™ mass spectrometer (Bruker, Bremen, Germany) operating in the positive ion mode. In each analysis, a 500-5000 m/z scale was internally calibrated with ES tuning mix (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, USA). Mass spectra were deconvoluted by using the Maximum Entropy algorithm, which is provided with DataAnalysis™ software v. 3.3 (Bruker).
Figure 22A shows that in the presence of 5 mM GSH a new peak with an intermediate mass corresponding to a Fab-arm exchanged molecule appeared (145.7 kDa). The novel mass corresponded to the expected mass of the bispecific anti- EGFR/CD20 antibody. No bispecific antibody peak appeared when no GSH or 0.5 mM GSH was used (data not shown). This indicates that a mutant containing an IgGl like, CPPC hinge and a IgG4-like CH3 region can be made to exchange half- molecules in vitro at higher GSH concentrations (as also indicated in Example 35, 36, 37). To study whether Fab-arm exchange of a stabilized hinge mutant containing an IgGl like, CPPC hinge and a IgG4-like CH3 occurs in vivo, we injected equal mixtures of IgG4-CD20 with IgGl-EGFR, IgG4-EGFR, IgG4-EGFR-CPPC into immunodeficient mice. Blood samples were drawn at different time-points and bispecific antibodies were quantified in ELISA (as described above) using in vitro exchanged mixtures (IgG4-EGFR/IgG4-CD20) as reference standards.
Fig. 22B shows that bispecific antibodies appeared in the blood of mice injected with mixtures containing wild-type IgG4 molecules (IgG4-EGFR). Bispecific antibodies were undetectable in mixtures containing hinge-stabilized IgG4 (IgG4- EGFR-CPPC) or IgGl molecules (IgGl-EGFR) ((symbols not shown in figure)). This indicates that core-hinge stabilization prevents IgG4 Fab-arm exchange in vivo, , but are not able to exchange half molecules in vivo (although we can not rule out that low-level exchange below the level of detection (<8% in 72 hrs) of hinge-stabilized IgG4 does occur).
This suggests that bispecific antibodies containing stabilized CPPC hinges can be obtained by Fab-arm exchange in vitro. After subsequent specific purification of these bispecific antibodies, these antibodies will remain stable (i.e will not Fab-arm exchange) upon injection in vivo.
Example 39. Fab arm exhange of CXXC-mutants The ability to exchange Fab arms of antibodies containing various CXXC- motifs in the core hinge was tested. The following CXXC-motifs were introduced into IgG4 bet v 1 and IgG4 feld 1, using site directed mutagenesis techniques as described above: - CGHC (active site sequence described for protein-disulphide-isomerase, PDI)
CGC (peptide described to have disulfide reduction potential) CPRC (core-hinge sequence of Gorilla IgG4) CPHC (active site sequence described for human thioredoxin) The following mixtures of purified antibodies were incubated with 0.5 mM GSH at 37°C and samples were drawn in PBS-AT at different timepoints between 0 and 24 h, in which the (bi)specific IgG concentrations were measured as described in previous examples:
- IgGl a-feldl wt with IgGl a-betvl wt (indicated as IgGl in Fig 23 and 24)
- IgG4 a-feldl wt with IgG4 a-betvl wt (indicated as IgG4 in Fig 23 and 24) - IgG4 a-feldl CGHC with IgG4 a-betvl CGHC (indicated as CGHC in Fig 23 and
24)
- IgG4 a-feldl CGC with IgG4 a-betvl CGC (indicated as CGC in Fig 23 and 24)
- IgG4 a-feldl CPRC with IgG4 a-betvl CPRC (indicated as CPRC in Fig 23 and 24) - IgG4 a-feldl CPHC with IgG4 a-betvl CPHC (indicated as CPHC in Fig 23 and
24)
The results (figure 23) showed that over time, no Fab arm exchange occurred of antibodies containing a CGC motif or a IgGl core hinge. Fab arm exhange of antibodies containing a CGHC motif was as effective as of IgG4 wt antibodies. Fab arm exchange also occurred of antibodies containing a CPRC motif, albeit somewhat slower, and to a lesser extent also of antibodies containing a CPHC motif.
Also, the effect of GSH concentration (1 to 20,000 μM) on the ability of these mixtures to undergo Fab arm exchange after 24 h incubation at 37°C was tested. Fab arm exchange of CPHC-, CPRC- and CGHC-motif containing antibodies as well as IgG4 wt antibodies was found to be dependent on GSH concentration (figure 24), with an optimum between 100 and 1,000 μM GSH.

Claims

1. An ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, c) incubating said first and second antibodies together under reducing conditions which allow the cysteines in the core hinge region to undergo disulfide- bond isomerization, and d) obtaining a bispecific antibody.
2. The ex vivo method of claim 1, wherein said first antibody comprises a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region.
3. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4τlike core hinge region.
4. The ex vivo method of any of claims 1 or 3, wherein said first antibody is an antibody which comprises a CXiX2C sequence in the core hinge region, wherein X1 and X2 can be any amino acid, provided that Xi and X2 are not both proline.
5. The ex vivo method of claim 4, wherein said first antibody is an antibody which comprises a CX3PC or CPX3C sequence in the core hinge region, wherein X3 can be any amino acid except for proline.
6. The ex vivo method of claim 5, wherein said first antibody is an antibody which comprises a CSPC, CPSC, CRPC, CPRC, CGHC or CPHC sequence in the core hinge region.
7. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein said first antibody comprises an IgG4 CH3 region.
8. The ex vivo method of any of claims 1 to 6, wherein said first antibody comprises a CH3 region of a non-IgG4 isotype, wherein the CH3 sequence is such, or has been modified such, that it does not comprise any amino acid residues which participate in the formation of disulfide bonds or covalent or stable non-covalent inter-heavy chain bonds with other peptides comprising an identical amino acid sequence of the CH3 region.
9. The ex vivo method of claim 8, wherein said CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 19, wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 238 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Asp (D) in position 239 has been replaced by GIu (E); Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 302 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 328 has been replaced by Leu (L).
10. The ex vivo method of claim 9, wherein Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R).
11. The ex vivo method of any of claims 1 to 6 or 8, wherein said CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 19, but wherein the Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Tyr (W) or Phe (F).
12. The ex vivo method of claim 8, wherein said CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 20, wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Met (M) in position 276 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 288 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 298 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
13. The ex vivo method of claim 12, wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
14. The ex vivo method of claim 12, wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
15. The ex vivo method of claim 12, wherein all five substitutions have been made.
16. The ex vivo method of claim 8, wherein said CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 21, wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Ser (S) in position 314 has been replaced by Asn (N); Asn (N) in position 322 has been replaced by Lys (K); Met (M) in position 327 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 339 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 349 has been replaced by GIu (E); He (I) in position 352 has been replaced by VaI (V); Arg (R) in position 365 has been replaced by His (H); Phe (F) in position 366 has been replaced by Tyr (Y); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
17. The ex vivo method of claim 16, wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
18. The ex vivo method of claim 16, wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
19. The ex vivo method of claim 16, wherein all 10 substitutions have been made.
20. The ex vivo method of any of claims 1, 3 to 7, wherein said first antibody is an IgG4 antibody.
21. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein said second antibody comprises a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region.
22. The ex vivo method of any of claims 1 to 20, wherein said second antibody comprises an IgG4-like core hinge region.
23. The ex vivo method of any of the claims 1 to 20 or 22, wherein said second antibody is an antibody which comprises a CXxX2C sequence in the core hinge region, wherein X1 and X2 can be any amino acid, provided that Xi and X2 are not both proline.
24. The ex vivo method of claim 23, wherein said second antibody is an antibody which comprises a CX3PC or CPX3C sequence in the core hinge region, wherein X3 can be any amino acid except for proline.
25. The ex vivo method of claim 23, wherein said second antibody is an antibody which comprises a CSPC, CPSC, CRPC or CPRC sequence in the core hinge region.
26. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein said second antibody comprises an IgG4 CH3 region.
27. The ex vivo method of any of claims 1 to 25, wherein said second antibody comprises a CH3 region of a non-IgG4 isotype, wherein the CH3 sequence is such, or has been modified such, that that it does not comprise any amino acid residues which participate in the formation of disulfide bonds or covalent or stable non- covalent inter-heavy chain bonds with other peptides comprising an identical amino acid sequence of the CH3 region.
28. The ex vivo method of claim 27, wherein said CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 19, wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 238 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Asp (D) in position 239 has been replaced by GIu (E); Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 302 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 328 has been replaced by Leu (L).
29. The ex vivo method of claim 28, wherein Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R).
30. The ex vivo method of any of claims 21 to 27, wherein said CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 19, but wherein the Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Tyr (W) or Phe (F).
31. The ex vivo method of claim 27, wherein said CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 20, wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Met (M) in position 276 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 288 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 298 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
32. The ex vivo method of claim 31, wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
33. The ex vivo method of claim 31, wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
34. The ex vivo method of claim 31, wherein all five substitutions have been made.
35. The ex vivo method of claim 27, wherein said CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 21, wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Ser (S) in position 314 has been replaced by Asn (N); Asn (N) in position 322 has been replaced by Lys (K); Met (M) in position 327 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 339 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 349 has been replaced by GIu (E); He (I) in position 352 has been replaced by VaI (V); Arg (R) in position 365 has been replaced by His (H); Phe (F) in position 366 has been replaced by Tyr (Y); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
36. The ex vivo method of claim 35, wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
37. The ex vivo method of claim 35, wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
38. The ex vivo method of claim 35, wherein all 10 substitutions have been made.
39. The ex vivo method of any of claims 1 to 20 or 22 to 26, wherein said second antibody is an IgG4 antibody.
40. The ex vivo method of claim 1 or 2, wherein said first antibody comprises a CPPC in the core hinge region and comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region and wherein said second antibody comprises an CPPC in the core hinge region and comprises an IgG4- like CH3 region.
41. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein said first antibody and/or said second antibody is a human antibody.
42. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the conditions in step c) are chosen such that no significant reduction or isomerization of disulfide bridges outside the core hinge region occurs.
43. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein step c) comprises the addition of a reducing agent.
44. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein step c) comprises the addition of an agent selected from the group consisting of: glutathione, L- cysteine, dithiothreitol, beta-mercapto-ethanol, and cysteamine.
45. The ex vivo method of claim 43 or 44, wherein the concentration of said agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 microM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 microM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 50 microM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 0.1 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 31.
46. The ex vivo method of claim 43 or 44, wherein the concentration of said agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 2 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 4 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 6 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 8 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 35.
47. The ex vivo method of claim 45 or 46, wherein the concentration of said agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 M of glutathione, such as equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 100 mM of glutathione equal to, or less reducing than, the redox potential generated by 15 mM of glutathione.
48. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein step c) comprises the incubation of said antibodies in the presence of reduced glutathione for at least 1 hours, such as for at least 2 hours, e.g. for at least 5 hours, such as at least 10 hours at a temperature of 20°C or more, such as 37°C.
49. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein fewer than 10%, such as fewer than 5%, e.g. fewer than 2%, such as fewer than 1% of the antibody molecules in the resulting composition are in an aggregated state.
50. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, comprising the further step of bringing the composition obtained in step c) to non-reducing conditions, in order to stop further half-molecule exchange.
51. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, comprising the further step of stabilizing the bispecific antibody, preferably using a method selected from: a) chemically cross-linking the cysteines in the hinge region, b) chemically cross-linking of the carbohydrate side-chains on the half-molecules, and c) cross-linking of asymmetrically introduced cysteines in the CH3 region.
52. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, comprising the further step of purifying the bispecific antibody, preferably under non-reducing conditions.
53. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, comprising the further step of formulating the resulting bispecific antibodies into a pharmaceutical composition for therapeutic use.
54. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the first antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD38, CD4 or CXCR5 or for CD79a or CD79b.
55. The ex vivo method of claim 54, wherein the second antibody has binding specificity for a tumor cell or tumor cell protein, such as erbBl, erbB2, erbB3, erbB4, MUC-I, CD19, CD20, CD4 or CXCR5.
56. The ex vivo method of claim 54, wherein the first antibody has a binding specificity for erbBl and the second antibody has a binding specificity for erbB2.
57. The ex vivo method of claim 54, wherein the first antibody has a binding specificity for CD19 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for CD20.
58. The ex vivo method of claim 54, wherein the first antibody has a binding specificity for CD4 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for CXCR5.
59. The ex vivo method of claim 54, wherein the first antibody has a binding specificity for CD38 and the second antibody has a binding specificity for CD34.
60. The ex vivo method of any of claims 1 to 53, wherein the first antibody has a binding specificity for a pathogenic microorganism.
61. The ex vivo method of claim 54 or 60, wherein the second antibody has binding specificity for an effector cell protein, such as CD3, CD25, CD28, CD16, CD89, CD32 or CDl.
62. The ex vivo method of claim 54, wherein the second antibody has a binding specificity for a chemotherapeutic agent.
63. The ex vivo method of claim 54, wherein the second antibody has a binding specificity for a blood protein, such as serum albumin, or a brain protein, such as transferrin or a liver protein.
64. The ex vivo method of claim 54, wherein the second antibody has a binding specificity for a protein involved in blood clotting, such as tissue factor.
65. The ex vivo method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the first and/or second antibody is linked to a compound selected from the group consisting of: a cytotoxic agent; a radioisotope; a prodrug or drug, such as a taxane; a cytokine; a chemokine and complement, such as CIq.
66. An ex vivo method for the generation of a bispecific antibody, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a first antibody having a first binding specificity, wherein said first antibody comprises a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region and an IgG4 CH3 region, b) providing a second antibody having a second binding specificity which differs from said first binding specificity, wherein said second antibody comprises a CPPC sequence in the core hinge region and an IgG4 CH3 region, and c) incubating said first and second antibodies together under reducing conditions which allow the cysteines in the core hinge region to undergo disulfide- bond isomerization, and d) obtaining a bispecific antibody.
67. The ex vivo method of claim 66, wherein in step c) a reducing agent has been added wherein the concentration of said agent is such that the redox potential of the solution generated in step c) is equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 1 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 2 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 4 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 6 mM of glutathione, such as equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 8 mM of glutathione, e.g. equal to, or more reducing than, the redox potential generated by 10 mM of glutathione, under the conditions described in Example 35.
68. An isolated bispecific antibody obtained or obtainable by the method of any of the preceding claims.
69. An isolated bispecific antibody comprising two IgG4-like CH3 regions.
70. The bispecific antibody of claim 69, wherein the antibody comprises one or two CPPC sequences in the core hinge region.
71. The bispecific antibody of claim 69, wherein the antibody comprises one or two CXiX2C sequences in the core hinge region, wherein X1 and X2 can be any amino acid, provided that Xi and X2 are not both proline.
72. The bispecific antibody of claim 69, wherein the antibody comprises one or two CX3PC or CPX3C sequences in the core hinge region, wherein X3 can be any amino acid except for proline.
73. The bispecific antibody of claim 69, wherein the antibody comprises one or two CSPC, CPSC, CRPC or CPRC sequences in the core hinge region.
74. The bispecific antibody of any of claims 69 to 73, wherein the first and/or the second CH3 region is of a non-IgG4 isotype, wherein the CH3 sequence is such, or has been modified such, that it does not comprise any amino acid residues which participate in the formation of disulfide bonds or covalent or stable non-covalent inter-heavy chain bonds with other peptides comprising an identical amino acid sequence of the CH3 region.
75. The bispecific antibody of claim 74, wherein the first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 19, wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 238 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Asp (D) in position 239 has been replaced by GIu (E); Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 302 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 328 has been replaced by Leu (L).
76. The bispecific antibody of claim 75, wherein the first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 19, but wherein Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Arg (R).
77. The bispecific antibody of claim 74, wherein the first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 19, but wherein the Lys (K) in position 292 has been replaced by Tyr (W) or Phe (F).
78. The bispecific antibody of claim 74, wherein the first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 20, wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Met (M) in position 276 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 288 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 298 has been replaced by GIu (E); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
79. The bispecific antibody of claim 74, wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
80. The bispecific antibody of claim 74, wherein Arg (R) in position 234 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 324 has been replaced by Leu (L).
81. The bispecific antibody of claim 74, wherein the first and/or the second CH3 region has the sequence as shown in SEQ ID NO: 21, wherein the CH3 region has been modified so that one or more of the of the following amino acid substitutions have been made: Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); Ser (S) in position 314 has been replaced by Asn (N); Asn (N) in position 322 has been replaced by Lys (K); Met (M) in position 327 has been replaced by VaI (V); Lys (K) in position 339 has been replaced by Arg (R); GIn (Q) in position 349 has been replaced by GIu (E); He (I) in position 352 has been replaced by VaI (V); Arg (R) in position 365 has been replaced by His (H); Phe (F) in position 366 has been replaced by Tyr (Y); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
82. The bispecific antibody of claim 81, wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q).
83. The bispecific antibody of claim 81, wherein Arg (R) in position 285 has been replaced by GIn (Q); and Pro (P) in position 375 has been replaced by Leu (L).
84. The bispecific antibody of any of claims 69 to 73, wherein the first and/or the second CH3 region is an IgG4 CH3 region.
85. The bispecific antibody of any of claims 68 to 84, wherein the sequences outside the core hinge region and outside the CH3 region are of an isotype selected from the group consisting of IgGl, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4.
86. A pharmaceutical composition comprising the bispecific antibody of any of claims 69 to 85.
87. The composition of claim 86 for use as a medicament.
88. The composition of claim 86 for use as a medicament for the treatment of cancer.
89. Use of a bispecific antibody obtained or obtainable by the method of any of claims 1 to 67 or the bispecific antibody of any of claims 68 to 85 for the preparation of a medicament for the treatment of cancer.
90. A method for the selection of a bispecific antibody having a desired property, said method comprising the steps of: a) providing a set of antibodies, wherein each antibody has a different target specificity and wherein each antibody comprises an IgG4-like CH3 region, b) incubating each antibody of said set of antibodies with another antibody of said set under reducing conditions, thus generating a set of antibody mixtures, wherein each mixture contains a different bispecific antibody, c) assaying the resulting set of antibody mixtures for a given desired property, and d) selecting a bispecific antibody mixture having the desired property.
91. The method of claim 90, wherein step b) having one or more of the further properties as defined for step c) in claim 2 to 67.
92. The method of claim 90 or 91, wherein said desired property is tumor cell killing.
EP08715601.4A 2007-03-29 2008-03-28 Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof Active EP2139924B1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP12199117.8A EP2626372B1 (en) 2007-03-29 2008-03-28 Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof

Applications Claiming Priority (3)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US92084007P 2007-03-29 2007-03-29
DKPA200700491 2007-03-29
PCT/DK2008/000124 WO2008119353A1 (en) 2007-03-29 2008-03-28 Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof

Related Child Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP12199117.8A Division EP2626372B1 (en) 2007-03-29 2008-03-28 Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof
EP12199117.8A Division-Into EP2626372B1 (en) 2007-03-29 2008-03-28 Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP2139924A1 true EP2139924A1 (en) 2010-01-06
EP2139924B1 EP2139924B1 (en) 2016-07-06

Family

ID=39672666

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP08715601.4A Active EP2139924B1 (en) 2007-03-29 2008-03-28 Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof
EP12199117.8A Active EP2626372B1 (en) 2007-03-29 2008-03-28 Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP12199117.8A Active EP2626372B1 (en) 2007-03-29 2008-03-28 Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof

Country Status (11)

Country Link
US (2) US9212230B2 (en)
EP (2) EP2139924B1 (en)
JP (2) JP5681482B2 (en)
CN (2) CN104497143B (en)
AU (1) AU2008234248C1 (en)
CA (1) CA2681974C (en)
ES (2) ES2667863T3 (en)
IL (1) IL201082A (en)
MX (1) MX2009010282A (en)
NZ (1) NZ614857A (en)
WO (1) WO2008119353A1 (en)

Families Citing this family (333)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
USRE47770E1 (en) 2002-07-18 2019-12-17 Merus N.V. Recombinant production of mixtures of antibodies
EP2314629B2 (en) 2002-07-18 2022-11-16 Merus N.V. Recombinant production of mixtures of antibodies
CN101198698B (en) 2005-03-31 2014-03-19 中外制药株式会社 Process for production of polypeptide by regulation of assembly
CN101479381B (en) 2006-03-31 2015-04-29 中外制药株式会社 Method for control of blood kinetics of antibody
EP4218801A3 (en) 2006-03-31 2023-08-23 Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki Kaisha Antibody modification method for purifying bispecific antibody
CN104497143B (en) 2007-03-29 2020-08-25 健玛保 Bispecific antibody and method for producing same
KR101922788B1 (en) 2007-09-26 2018-11-27 추가이 세이야쿠 가부시키가이샤 Modified antibody constant region
CN106519025B (en) 2007-09-26 2021-04-23 中外制药株式会社 Method for changing isoelectric point of antibody by using amino acid substitution of CDR
US20110086366A1 (en) * 2008-02-22 2011-04-14 Genmab A/S Methods for assessing the risk of adverse events upon treatment with igg4 antibodies
CA3053156A1 (en) 2008-12-03 2010-06-10 Genmab A/S Antibody variants having modifications in the constant region
JP5717624B2 (en) 2009-03-19 2015-05-13 中外製薬株式会社 Antibody constant region variants
WO2010107109A1 (en) 2009-03-19 2010-09-23 中外製薬株式会社 Antibody constant region variant
JP5837821B2 (en) 2009-09-24 2015-12-24 中外製薬株式会社 Antibody constant region variants
EP2543730B1 (en) 2010-03-04 2018-10-31 Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki Kaisha Antibody constant region variant
AU2013203221B2 (en) * 2010-04-20 2016-06-02 Genmab A/S Heterodimeric antibody FC-containing proteins and methods for production thereof
EA201201435A1 (en) * 2010-04-20 2013-04-30 Генмаб А/С HETERODIMERNY ANTIBODY-Fc-CONTAINING PROTEINS AND METHODS FOR THEIR RECEIVING
RU2624027C2 (en) * 2010-04-23 2017-06-30 Дженентек, Инк. Heteromultimeric proteins production
WO2011143545A1 (en) 2010-05-14 2011-11-17 Rinat Neuroscience Corporation Heterodimeric proteins and methods for producing and purifying them
US9862769B2 (en) 2010-05-27 2018-01-09 Genmab A/S Monoclonal antibodies against HER2
WO2011154453A1 (en) 2010-06-09 2011-12-15 Genmab A/S Antibodies against human cd38
WO2012010582A1 (en) 2010-07-21 2012-01-26 Roche Glycart Ag Anti-cxcr5 antibodies and methods of use
US9562109B2 (en) 2010-11-05 2017-02-07 Zymeworks Inc. Stable heterodimeric antibody design with mutations in the Fc domain
CN103298937B (en) 2010-11-17 2016-05-25 中外制药株式会社 There is the polyspecific antigen binding molecules of the function of the function that replaces blood coagulation factor VIII
US20120183527A1 (en) * 2011-01-18 2012-07-19 Baxter International Inc. Measurement of anti-amyloid antibodies in human blood
US20130078247A1 (en) * 2011-04-01 2013-03-28 Boehringer Ingelheim International Gmbh Bispecific binding molecules binding to dii4 and ang2
US9527925B2 (en) * 2011-04-01 2016-12-27 Boehringer Ingelheim International Gmbh Bispecific binding molecules binding to VEGF and ANG2
WO2012143523A1 (en) 2011-04-20 2012-10-26 Genmab A/S Bispecifc antibodies against her2
JP2014514314A (en) 2011-04-20 2014-06-19 ゲンマブ エー／エス Bispecific antibodies against HER2 and CD3
KR102103036B1 (en) * 2011-06-13 2020-04-22 압제노믹스 코오페라티에프 유.에이. Anti-psgl-1 antibodies and uses thereof
UA117901C2 (en) 2011-07-06 2018-10-25 Ґенмаб Б.В. Antibody variants and uses thereof
GB201116092D0 (en) 2011-09-16 2011-11-02 Bioceros B V Antibodies and uses thereof
ES2682081T3 (en) 2011-10-11 2018-09-18 F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ag Enhanced bispecific antibody assembly
US10344050B2 (en) * 2011-10-27 2019-07-09 Genmab A/S Production of heterodimeric proteins
ES2732712T3 (en) 2011-10-31 2019-11-25 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd Antigen binding molecule that has a regulated conjugation between the heavy chain and the light chain
RS62689B1 (en) 2011-11-04 2021-12-31 Zymeworks Inc Stable heterodimeric antibody design with mutations in the fc domain
RU2620068C2 (en) 2011-11-23 2017-05-22 МЕДИММЬЮН, ЭлЭлСи Binding molecule specific for her3, and their applications
SI2838918T1 (en) 2012-04-20 2019-11-29 Merus Nv Methods and means for the production of heterodimeric ig-like molecules
US9212227B2 (en) 2012-04-30 2015-12-15 Janssen Biotech, Inc. ST2L antibody antagonists for the treatment of ST2L-mediated inflammatory pulmonary conditions
JO3820B1 (en) * 2012-05-03 2021-01-31 Regeneron Pharma Human antibodies to fel d1 and methods of use thereof
KR20150016579A (en) 2012-05-30 2015-02-12 추가이 세이야쿠 가부시키가이샤 Target-tissue-specific antigen-binding molecule
US20130344064A1 (en) * 2012-06-08 2013-12-26 Glenmark Pharmaceuticals S.A. Anti-trka antibodies with enhanced inhibitory properties and derivatives thereof
US9499634B2 (en) 2012-06-25 2016-11-22 Zymeworks Inc. Process and methods for efficient manufacturing of highly pure asymmetric antibodies in mammalian cells
WO2014009474A1 (en) 2012-07-13 2014-01-16 F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ag Method for the detection of a multispecific binder
BR112015001955A2 (en) 2012-08-24 2017-11-07 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd fcgamariib specific fc region variant
EP2900694B1 (en) 2012-09-27 2018-09-12 Merus N.V. Bispecific igg antibodies as t cell engagers
US9914785B2 (en) 2012-11-28 2018-03-13 Zymeworks Inc. Engineered immunoglobulin heavy chain-light chain pairs and uses thereof
KR102545617B1 (en) 2012-11-28 2023-06-20 자임워크스 비씨 인코포레이티드 Engineered immunoglobulin heavy chain-light chain pairs and uses thereof
KR20160007478A (en) 2013-01-10 2016-01-20 젠맵 비. 브이 Human igg1 fc region variants and uses thereof
TWI635098B (en) 2013-02-01 2018-09-11 再生元醫藥公司 Antibodies comprising chimeric constant domains
US9963513B2 (en) 2013-02-05 2018-05-08 Engmab Sàrl Method for the selection of antibodies against BCMA
EP2762496A1 (en) 2013-02-05 2014-08-06 EngMab AG Method for the selection of antibodies against BCMA
WO2014151422A1 (en) 2013-03-15 2014-09-25 Janssen Biotech, Inc. Interferon alpha and omega antibody antagonists
US9157910B2 (en) 2013-03-15 2015-10-13 Abbott Laboratories Assay with increased dynamic range
MX2015013288A (en) 2013-03-18 2016-04-07 Biocerox Prod Bv Humanized anti-cd134 (ox40) antibodies and uses thereof.
WO2014163101A1 (en) 2013-04-02 2014-10-09 中外製薬株式会社 Fc region variant
EP2789630A1 (en) 2013-04-09 2014-10-15 EngMab AG Bispecific antibodies against CD3e and ROR1
KR20160007604A (en) * 2013-05-10 2016-01-20 누맙 아게 Bispecific constructs and their use in the treatment of various diseases
WO2015027154A2 (en) 2013-08-23 2015-02-26 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Diagnostic tests and methods for assessing safety, efficacy or outcome of allergen-specific immunotherapy (sit)
WO2015048008A2 (en) 2013-09-24 2015-04-02 Medimmune, Llc Binding molecules specific for her3 and uses thereof
MX2016003616A (en) 2013-09-27 2016-07-21 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd Method for producing polypeptide heteromultimer.
KR102282691B1 (en) 2013-09-30 2021-07-27 추가이 세이야쿠 가부시키가이샤 Method for producing antigen-binding molecule using modified helper phage
CA2929256C (en) 2013-11-04 2022-04-26 Glenmark Pharmaceuticals S.A. Production of t cell retargeting hetero-dimeric immunoglobulins
PE20160856A1 (en) 2013-11-06 2016-09-03 Janssen Biotech Inc ANTI-CCL17 ANTIBODIES
AU2014347565B2 (en) 2013-11-11 2020-08-13 Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki Kaisha Antigen-binding molecule containing modified antibody variable region
JP6817064B2 (en) 2013-11-27 2021-01-20 ザイムワークス，インコーポレイテッド Bispecific antigen-binding construct targeting HER2
KR102284503B1 (en) 2013-12-04 2021-07-30 추가이 세이야쿠 가부시키가이샤 Antigen-binding molecules, the antigen-binding activity of which varies according to the concentration of compounds, and libraries of said molecules
JOP20200094A1 (en) 2014-01-24 2017-06-16 Dana Farber Cancer Inst Inc Antibody molecules to pd-1 and uses thereof
JOP20200096A1 (en) 2014-01-31 2017-06-16 Children’S Medical Center Corp Antibody molecules to tim-3 and uses thereof
WO2015121383A1 (en) 2014-02-12 2015-08-20 Michael Uhlin Bispecific antibodies for use in stem cell transplantation
JP6771385B2 (en) 2014-02-28 2020-10-21 メルス ナムローゼ フェンノートシャップ Bispecific antibody and pharmaceutical composition
WO2015130173A1 (en) 2014-02-28 2015-09-03 Merus B.V. Antibody that binds erbb-2 and erbb-3
US9732154B2 (en) 2014-02-28 2017-08-15 Janssen Biotech, Inc. Anti-CD38 antibodies for treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia
LT3116909T (en) 2014-03-14 2020-02-10 Novartis Ag Antibody molecules to lag-3 and uses thereof
US20170335281A1 (en) 2014-03-15 2017-11-23 Novartis Ag Treatment of cancer using chimeric antigen receptor
TWI754319B (en) 2014-03-19 2022-02-01 美商再生元醫藥公司 Methods and antibody compositions for tumor treatment
KR102568808B1 (en) 2014-04-07 2023-08-18 추가이 세이야쿠 가부시키가이샤 Immunoactivating antigen-binding molecule
US10745490B2 (en) 2014-04-11 2020-08-18 Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. Anti-ErbB antibodies and methods of use thereof
EP3140392B1 (en) 2014-05-06 2023-07-26 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG Production of heteromultimeric proteins using mammalian cells
GB201408135D0 (en) * 2014-05-08 2014-06-25 Conogenetix Biosciences Gmbh Kv1.3 potassium channel antagonists
JP6687247B2 (en) * 2014-05-10 2020-04-22 ソレント・セラピューティクス・インコーポレイテッドＳｏｒｒｅｎｔｏ Ｔｈｅｒａｐｅｕｔｉｃｓ， Ｉｎｃ． Chemically immobilized bispecific antibody
JP6894702B2 (en) 2014-05-13 2021-06-30 中外製薬株式会社 T cell redirection antigen-binding molecule for cells with immunosuppressive function
CA2946503C (en) 2014-05-28 2022-11-22 Zymeworks Inc. Modified antigen binding polypeptide constructs and uses thereof
US10647777B2 (en) * 2014-05-28 2020-05-12 Genzyme Corporation Methods of controlling the formation of disulfide bonds in protein solutions
GB201409558D0 (en) 2014-05-29 2014-07-16 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Method
TWI713453B (en) 2014-06-23 2020-12-21 美商健生生物科技公司 Interferon alpha and omega antibody antagonists
AU2015279321B2 (en) 2014-06-27 2021-03-04 Innate Pharma, S.A. Multispecific antigen binding proteins
WO2015197593A1 (en) 2014-06-27 2015-12-30 Innate Pharma MULTISPECIFIC NKp46 BINDING PROTEINS
GB201412659D0 (en) * 2014-07-16 2014-08-27 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Molecules
GB201412658D0 (en) * 2014-07-16 2014-08-27 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Molecules
US11542488B2 (en) 2014-07-21 2023-01-03 Novartis Ag Sortase synthesized chimeric antigen receptors
WO2016014530A1 (en) 2014-07-21 2016-01-28 Novartis Ag Combinations of low, immune enhancing. doses of mtor inhibitors and cars
AU2015292744C1 (en) 2014-07-21 2021-01-21 Novartis Ag Treatment of cancer using humanized anti-BCMA chimeric antigen receptor
CN107109419B (en) 2014-07-21 2020-12-22 诺华股份有限公司 Treatment of cancer using CD33 chimeric antigen receptor
EP4205749A1 (en) 2014-07-31 2023-07-05 Novartis AG Subset-optimized chimeric antigen receptor-containing cells
JP6919118B2 (en) 2014-08-14 2021-08-18 ノバルティス アーゲー Treatment of cancer with GFRα-4 chimeric antigen receptor
TWI719946B (en) 2014-08-19 2021-03-01 瑞士商諾華公司 Treatment of cancer using a cd123 chimeric antigen receptor
KR102626976B1 (en) 2014-09-02 2024-01-18 이뮤노젠 아이엔씨 Methods for formulating antibody drug conjugate compositions
BR112017004614A2 (en) 2014-09-09 2018-02-27 Janssen Biotech, Inc. anti-cd38 antibody combination therapies
EP3967709A1 (en) 2014-09-17 2022-03-16 Novartis AG Targeting cytotoxic cells with chimeric receptors for adoptive immunotherapy
MA40764A (en) 2014-09-26 2017-08-01 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd THERAPEUTIC AGENT INDUCING CYTOTOXICITY
CA2963692A1 (en) 2014-10-09 2016-04-14 Engmab Ag Bispecific antibodies against cd3epsilon and ror1
EP4245376A3 (en) 2014-10-14 2023-12-13 Novartis AG Antibody molecules to pd-l1 and uses thereof
US11773166B2 (en) 2014-11-04 2023-10-03 Ichnos Sciences SA CD3/CD38 T cell retargeting hetero-dimeric immunoglobulins and methods of their production
WO2016081490A1 (en) 2014-11-17 2016-05-26 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Methods for tumor treatment using cd3xcd20 bispecific antibody
WO2016090034A2 (en) 2014-12-03 2016-06-09 Novartis Ag Methods for b cell preconditioning in car therapy
US10398774B2 (en) 2014-12-09 2019-09-03 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Human monoclonal antibodies against AXL
EP3233907B1 (en) 2014-12-19 2021-03-03 Genmab A/S Rodent bispecific heterodimeric proteins
MA41294A (en) 2014-12-19 2017-11-08 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd ANTI-MYOSTATIN ANTIBODIES, POLYPEPTIDES CONTAINING FC REGION VARIANTS, AND METHODS OF USE
PL3623386T3 (en) 2015-01-08 2022-08-08 BioNTech SE Agonistic tnf receptor binding agents
MA41375A (en) 2015-01-22 2017-11-28 Lilly Co Eli BISPECIFIC IGG ANTIBODIES AND THEIR PREPARATION PROCESSES
CN104818295A (en) * 2015-02-03 2015-08-05 武汉友芝友生物制药有限公司 Method for preparing and screening cell line expressing bispecific antibody
CN107108729A (en) 2015-02-05 2017-08-29 中外制药株式会社 The antibody of antigen-binding domains comprising ion concentration dependence, FC region variants, the binding antibodies of IL 8, and its application
EP3056512A1 (en) 2015-02-10 2016-08-17 Medizinische Universität Wien Antibody construct
JP6894843B2 (en) * 2015-03-13 2021-06-30 ノビミューン エスアー How to Purify Bispecific Antibodies
ES2846748T3 (en) 2015-03-30 2021-07-29 Regeneron Pharma Heavy chain constant regions with reduced binding to Fc gamma receptors
JP7082484B2 (en) 2015-04-01 2022-06-08 中外製薬株式会社 Method for Producing Polypeptide Heterogeneous Multimer
TWI746437B (en) 2015-04-08 2021-11-21 瑞士商諾華公司 Cd20 therapies, cd22 therapies, and combination therapies with a cd19 chimeric antigen receptor (car)- expressing cell
US12128069B2 (en) 2015-04-23 2024-10-29 The Trustees Of The University Of Pennsylvania Treatment of cancer using chimeric antigen receptor and protein kinase a blocker
TWI687228B (en) * 2015-05-11 2020-03-11 美商索倫多醫療公司 Chemically-locked bispecific antibodies
CR20170526A (en) 2015-05-20 2018-04-03 Janssen Biotech Inc ANTI-CD38 ANTIBODIES FOR THE TREATMENT OF LIGHT CHAIN AMYLOIDOSIS and OTHER POSITIVE HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNAL DISEASES FOR CD38
AU2016265447B2 (en) 2015-05-21 2022-06-16 Alligator Bioscience Ab Novel polypeptides
CN104865389B (en) * 2015-05-28 2017-06-06 卫生部北京医院 A kind of method and kit for detecting human serum heterozygosis light chain antibody
CN107708734B (en) 2015-06-22 2022-01-11 詹森生物科技公司 Combination therapy of heme malignancies with anti-CD 38 antibodies and survivin inhibitors
US10113003B2 (en) 2015-06-23 2018-10-30 Innate Pharma Multispecific NK engager proteins
RS65347B1 (en) 2015-06-24 2024-04-30 Janssen Biotech Inc Immune modulation and treatment of solid tumors with antibodies that specifically bind cd38
EP3313845B1 (en) 2015-06-29 2020-08-12 ImmunoGen, Inc. Conjugates of cysteine engineered antibodies
EP3319996B1 (en) 2015-07-09 2024-01-03 Genmab A/S Bispecific and multispecific antibodies and method for isolation of such
RS57928B1 (en) 2015-07-10 2019-01-31 Merus Nv Human cd3 binding antibody
IL256562B2 (en) 2015-07-15 2024-07-01 Genmab As Humanized or chimeric cd3 antibodies
GB201601075D0 (en) 2016-01-20 2016-03-02 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Antibodies molecules
GB201601073D0 (en) * 2016-01-20 2016-03-02 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Antibodies
GB201601077D0 (en) 2016-01-20 2016-03-02 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Antibody molecule
EP4378957A3 (en) 2015-07-29 2024-08-07 Novartis AG Combination therapies comprising antibody molecules to pd-1
US20180340025A1 (en) 2015-07-29 2018-11-29 Novartis Ag Combination therapies comprising antibody molecules to lag-3
EP3878465A1 (en) 2015-07-29 2021-09-15 Novartis AG Combination therapies comprising antibody molecules to tim-3
KR102717307B1 (en) 2015-08-03 2024-10-15 브리스톨-마이어스 스큅 컴퍼니 Monoclonal antibodies against BCMA
US10669343B2 (en) 2015-08-05 2020-06-02 Janssen Biotech, Inc. Anti-CD154 antibodies and methods of using them
RU2728430C2 (en) 2015-09-18 2020-07-29 Чугаи Сейяку Кабусики Кайся Il-8-binding antibodies and use thereof
CA3000869A1 (en) 2015-10-08 2017-04-13 Zymeworks Inc. Antigen-binding polypeptide constructs comprising kappa and lambda light chains and uses thereof
WO2017067944A1 (en) 2015-10-19 2017-04-27 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Methods for predicting the survival time of subjects suffering from triple negative breast cancer
BR112018008068A2 (en) 2015-10-23 2018-11-13 Merus N.V. binding molecules that inhibit cancer growth
RS61651B1 (en) 2015-11-03 2021-04-29 Janssen Biotech Inc Subcutaneous formulations of anti-cd38 antibodies and their uses
JP6931329B2 (en) 2015-11-18 2021-09-01 中外製薬株式会社 Combination therapy using T cell redirection antigen-binding molecule for cells with immunosuppressive function
US11649293B2 (en) 2015-11-18 2023-05-16 Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki Kaisha Method for enhancing humoral immune response
GB201521382D0 (en) 2015-12-03 2016-01-20 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Antibodies
GB201521383D0 (en) 2015-12-03 2016-01-20 Ucb Biopharma Sprl And Ucb Celltech Method
GB201521391D0 (en) 2015-12-03 2016-01-20 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Antibodies
GB201521393D0 (en) 2015-12-03 2016-01-20 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Antibodies
GB201521389D0 (en) 2015-12-03 2016-01-20 Ucb Biopharma Sprl Method
WO2017106656A1 (en) 2015-12-17 2017-06-22 Novartis Ag Antibody molecules to pd-1 and uses thereof
EP3389713A2 (en) 2015-12-17 2018-10-24 Novartis AG Combination of c-met inhibitor with antibody molecule to pd-1 and uses thereof
AU2016371034A1 (en) 2015-12-17 2018-05-31 Janssen Biotech, Inc. Antibodies specifically binding HLA-DR and their uses
SG11201803989WA (en) 2015-12-28 2018-06-28 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd Method for promoting efficiency of purification of fc region-containing polypeptide
EP3405492B1 (en) 2016-01-21 2020-10-21 Novartis AG Multispecific molecules targeting cll-1
EP3405493A1 (en) 2016-01-22 2018-11-28 Janssen Biotech, Inc. Anti-ror1 antibodies, ror1 x cd3 bispecific antibodies, and methods of using the same
ES2924775T3 (en) 2016-01-28 2022-10-10 Inst Nat Sante Rech Med Methods and pharmaceutical composition for the treatment of cancer
RU2018133708A (en) 2016-02-26 2020-03-26 Инсерм (Энститю Насьональ Де Ля Сантэ Э Де Ля Решерш Медикаль) BTLA SPECIFIC ANTIBODIES AND THEIR USE
WO2017149515A1 (en) 2016-03-04 2017-09-08 Novartis Ag Cells expressing multiple chimeric antigen receptor (car) molecules and uses therefore
SG10202007025PA (en) 2016-03-14 2020-08-28 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd Cell injury inducing therapeutic drug for use in cancer therapy
CN109641955B (en) 2016-03-22 2022-07-08 国家医疗保健研究所 Humanized anti-claudin-1antibodies and uses thereof
EP3432924A1 (en) 2016-03-23 2019-01-30 Novartis AG Cell secreted minibodies and uses thereof
WO2017181119A2 (en) 2016-04-15 2017-10-19 Novartis Ag Compositions and methods for selective protein expression
CN116515757A (en) 2016-04-20 2023-08-01 瑞泽恩制药公司 Compositions and methods based on the use of expression enhancing loci for the production of antibodies
JP7134868B2 (en) 2016-04-20 2022-09-12 リジェネロン・ファーマシューティカルズ・インコーポレイテッド Compositions and methods for generating antibodies based on the use of enhanced expression loci
EP3463452A1 (en) 2016-05-24 2019-04-10 Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale (INSERM) Methods and pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of non small cell lung cancer (nsclc) that coexists with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (copd)
WO2017210617A2 (en) 2016-06-02 2017-12-07 Porter, David, L. Therapeutic regimens for chimeric antigen receptor (car)- expressing cells
EP3474895A1 (en) 2016-06-28 2019-05-01 UMC Utrecht Holding B.V. TREATMENT OF IgE-MEDIATED DISEASES WITH ANTIBODIES THAT SPECIFICALLY BIND CD38
US20190336504A1 (en) 2016-07-15 2019-11-07 Novartis Ag Treatment and prevention of cytokine release syndrome using a chimeric antigen receptor in combination with a kinase inhibitor
SG11201900677SA (en) 2016-07-28 2019-02-27 Novartis Ag Combination therapies of chimeric antigen receptors adn pd-1 inhibitors
BR112019001693A2 (en) 2016-07-29 2019-07-02 Ct Hospitalier Universitaire Toulouse antibodies targeting tumor-associated macrophages and their uses
US20190161542A1 (en) 2016-08-01 2019-05-30 Novartis Ag Treatment of cancer using a chimeric antigen receptor in combination with an inhibitor of a pro-m2 macrophage molecule
CA3032794A1 (en) * 2016-08-03 2018-02-08 The Feinstein Institute For Medical Research C1q and hmgb1 fusion proteins and uses thereof
WO2018036947A1 (en) 2016-08-22 2018-03-01 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Methods of inhibiting biological responses induced by a receptor that uses pi3k to signal in a cell
CA3039646A1 (en) 2016-10-07 2018-04-12 Novartis Ag Chimeric antigen receptors for the treatment of cancer
WO2018083204A1 (en) 2016-11-02 2018-05-11 Engmab Sàrl Bispecific antibody against bcma and cd3 and an immunological drug for combined use in treating multiple myeloma
GB201619652D0 (en) 2016-11-21 2017-01-04 Alligator Bioscience Ab Novel polypeptides
KR102576550B1 (en) 2016-11-23 2023-09-07 이뮤노젠 아이엔씨 Selective Sulfonation of Benzodiazepine Derivatives
EP3558347A1 (en) 2016-12-22 2019-10-30 Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Method of treating an allergy with allergen-specific monoclonal antibodies
ES2912408T3 (en) 2017-01-26 2022-05-25 Novartis Ag CD28 compositions and methods for therapy with chimeric receptors for antigens
JP7556687B2 (en) * 2017-02-24 2024-09-26 中外製薬株式会社 Pharmaceutical compositions, antigen-binding molecules, methods of treatment, and screening methods
WO2018160731A1 (en) 2017-02-28 2018-09-07 Novartis Ag Shp inhibitor compositions and uses for chimeric antigen receptor therapy
WO2018158719A1 (en) 2017-03-02 2018-09-07 Novartis Ag Engineered heterodimeric proteins
EP3589654A1 (en) 2017-03-02 2020-01-08 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Antibodies having specificity to nectin-4 and uses thereof
AU2018231618A1 (en) 2017-03-09 2019-10-03 Genmab A/S Antibodies against PD-L1
CN110650752A (en) 2017-03-31 2020-01-03 美勒斯公司 ErbB-2 and ErbB3 binding bispecific antibodies for treating cells with NRG1 fusion gene
UA127586C2 (en) 2017-03-31 2023-10-25 Ґенмаб Холдінґ Б.В. Bispecific anti-cd37 antibodies, monoclonal anti-cd37 antibodies and methods of use thereof
AU2018249493A1 (en) 2017-04-03 2019-09-19 Oncxerna Therapeutics, Inc. Methods for treating cancer using PS-targeting antibodies with immuno-oncology agents
WO2018189403A1 (en) 2017-04-14 2018-10-18 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Methods and pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of cancer
US20200055948A1 (en) 2017-04-28 2020-02-20 Novartis Ag Cells expressing a bcma-targeting chimeric antigen receptor, and combination therapy with a gamma secretase inhibitor
US20200179511A1 (en) 2017-04-28 2020-06-11 Novartis Ag Bcma-targeting agent, and combination therapy with a gamma secretase inhibitor
RU2019138067A (en) 2017-05-02 2021-06-02 Эллигейтор Биосайенс Аб SPECIFIC ANTIBODY AGAINST OX40 AND CTLA-4
UY37758A (en) 2017-06-12 2019-01-31 Novartis Ag METHOD OF MANUFACTURING OF BIESPECTIFIC ANTIBODIES, BISPECTIFIC ANTIBODIES AND THERAPEUTIC USE OF SUCH ANTIBODIES
CA3065328C (en) 2017-06-21 2023-08-15 Gilead Sciences, Inc. Multispecific antibodies that target hiv gp120 and cd3
MX2019015885A (en) 2017-06-22 2020-09-10 Novartis Ag Antibody molecules to cd73 and uses thereof.
CA3066747A1 (en) 2017-06-27 2019-01-03 Novartis Ag Dosage regimens for anti-tim-3 antibodies and uses thereof
SG11201913137VA (en) 2017-07-11 2020-01-30 Compass Therapeutics Llc Agonist antibodies that bind human cd137 and uses thereof
AU2018302283A1 (en) 2017-07-20 2020-02-06 Novartis Ag Dosage regimens of anti-LAG-3 antibodies and uses thereof
EP3661960A1 (en) 2017-08-04 2020-06-10 Genmab A/S Binding agents binding to pd-l1 and cd137 and use thereof
US11773170B2 (en) 2017-08-09 2023-10-03 Merus N.V. Antibodies that bind EGFR and cMET
EP3684795A1 (en) 2017-09-21 2020-07-29 Imcheck Therapeutics SAS Antibodies having specificity for btn2 and uses thereof
MA50185A (en) * 2017-09-22 2020-07-29 Wuxi Biologics Ireland Ltd NEW BISPECIFIC CD3 / CD19 POLYPEPTID COMPLEXES
US11845796B2 (en) 2017-09-22 2023-12-19 WuXi Biologics Ireland Limited Bispecific polypeptide complexes
MX2020003497A (en) 2017-10-20 2020-07-22 Hoffmann La Roche Method for generating multispecific antibodies from monospecific antibodies.
US11161911B2 (en) 2017-10-23 2021-11-02 Go Therapeutics, Inc. Anti-glyco-MUC1 antibodies and their uses
EP3704145A1 (en) 2017-10-30 2020-09-09 F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG Method for in vivo generation of multispecific antibodies from monospecific antibodies
US20210179709A1 (en) 2017-10-31 2021-06-17 Novartis Ag Anti-car compositions and methods
US11718679B2 (en) 2017-10-31 2023-08-08 Compass Therapeutics Llc CD137 antibodies and PD-1 antagonists and uses thereof
KR20200089286A (en) 2017-11-16 2020-07-24 노파르티스 아게 Combination therapy
EP3713961A2 (en) 2017-11-20 2020-09-30 Compass Therapeutics LLC Cd137 antibodies and tumor antigen-targeting antibodies and uses thereof
WO2019106126A1 (en) 2017-12-01 2019-06-06 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Mdm2 modulators for the diagnosis and treatment of liposarcoma
EP3498293A1 (en) 2017-12-15 2019-06-19 Institut National De La Sante Et De La Recherche Medicale (Inserm) Treatment of monogenic diseases with an anti-cd45rc antibody
AU2018387829A1 (en) 2017-12-22 2020-05-07 Argenx Bvba Bispecific antigen binding construct
JP7314146B2 (en) 2017-12-28 2023-07-25 中外製薬株式会社 Cytotoxicity-inducing therapeutic agent
WO2019152660A1 (en) 2018-01-31 2019-08-08 Novartis Ag Combination therapy using a chimeric antigen receptor
GB201802487D0 (en) 2018-02-15 2018-04-04 Argenx Bvba Cytokine combination therapy
RU2020133262A (en) 2018-03-12 2022-04-13 Генмаб А/С ANTIBODIES
US20210147547A1 (en) 2018-04-13 2021-05-20 Novartis Ag Dosage Regimens For Anti-Pd-L1 Antibodies And Uses Thereof
US20210164984A1 (en) 2018-04-13 2021-06-03 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Methods for predicting outcome and treatment of patients suffering from prostate cancer or breast cancer
WO2019207030A1 (en) 2018-04-26 2019-10-31 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Methods for predicting a response with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in a patient suffering from a lung cancer
EP3784351A1 (en) 2018-04-27 2021-03-03 Novartis AG Car t cell therapies with enhanced efficacy
WO2019226658A1 (en) 2018-05-21 2019-11-28 Compass Therapeutics Llc Multispecific antigen-binding compositions and methods of use
CA3099308A1 (en) 2018-05-21 2019-11-28 Compass Therapeutics Llc Compositions and methods for enhancing the killing of target cells by nk cells
US20210213063A1 (en) 2018-05-25 2021-07-15 Novartis Ag Combination therapy with chimeric antigen receptor (car) therapies
CN110540593B (en) * 2018-05-29 2022-05-17 上海药明生物技术有限公司 Novel anti-CD 3/anti-CD 20 bispecific antibodies
WO2019232244A2 (en) 2018-05-31 2019-12-05 Novartis Ag Antibody molecules to cd73 and uses thereof
SG11202010579XA (en) 2018-06-01 2020-12-30 Novartis Ag Binding molecules against bcma and uses thereof
TW202016139A (en) 2018-06-13 2020-05-01 瑞士商諾華公司 Bcma chimeric antigen receptors and uses thereof
EP3810269A2 (en) 2018-06-19 2021-04-28 Atarga, LLC Antibody molecules to complement component 5 and uses thereof
JP7126573B2 (en) 2018-07-03 2022-08-26 ギリアード サイエンシーズ， インコーポレイテッド Antibodies targeting HIV gp120 and methods of use
AR116109A1 (en) 2018-07-10 2021-03-31 Novartis Ag DERIVATIVES OF 3- (5-AMINO-1-OXOISOINDOLIN-2-IL) PIPERIDINE-2,6-DIONA AND USES OF THE SAME
WO2020021465A1 (en) 2018-07-25 2020-01-30 Advanced Accelerator Applications (Italy) S.R.L. Method of treatment of neuroendocrine tumors
KR20210054528A (en) 2018-08-31 2021-05-13 리제너론 파아마슈티컬스, 인크. Dosing strategies to alleviate cytokine release syndrome against CD3/C20 bispecific antibodies
US11667721B2 (en) 2018-09-24 2023-06-06 Medical College Of Wisconsin, Inc. CD30 bispecific antibodies and method of immunotherapy of CD30+ malignancies
WO2020070062A1 (en) 2018-10-01 2020-04-09 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Use of tim-3 inhibitors for the treatment of exacerbations in patients suffering from severe asthma
CA3115163A1 (en) 2018-10-04 2020-04-09 Genmab Holding B.V. Pharmaceutical compositions comprising bispecific anti-cd37 antibodies
MX2021005085A (en) 2018-11-06 2021-11-04 Genmab As Antibody formulation.
EP3877413A1 (en) 2018-11-06 2021-09-15 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Methods and pharmaceutical compositions for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia by eradicating leukemic stem cells
CN113508127A (en) 2018-11-06 2021-10-15 阿尔萨泰克公司 Cell-based gene therapy for neurodegenerative diseases
CN113166269A (en) 2018-11-13 2021-07-23 指南针制药有限责任公司 Multispecific binding constructs against checkpoint molecules and uses thereof
WO2020128898A1 (en) 2018-12-20 2020-06-25 Novartis Ag Pharmaceutical combinations
CN113271945A (en) 2018-12-20 2021-08-17 诺华股份有限公司 Dosing regimens and pharmaceutical combinations comprising 3- (1-oxoisoindolin-2-yl) piperidine-2, 6-dione derivatives
MX2021008121A (en) 2019-01-03 2021-12-10 Inst Nat Sante Rech Med Methods and pharmaceutical compositions for enhancing cd8+ t cell-dependent immune responses in subjects suffering from cancer.
KR20210116562A (en) 2019-01-18 2021-09-27 얀센 바이오테크 인코포레이티드 GPRC5D chimeric antigen receptor and cells expressing the same
US10871640B2 (en) 2019-02-15 2020-12-22 Perkinelmer Cellular Technologies Germany Gmbh Methods and systems for automated imaging of three-dimensional objects
WO2020165834A1 (en) 2019-02-15 2020-08-20 Novartis Ag Substituted 3-(1-oxoisoindolin-2-yl)piperidine-2,6-dione derivatives and uses thereof
US20220144807A1 (en) 2019-02-15 2022-05-12 Novartis Ag 3-(1-oxo-5-(piperidin-4-yl)isoindolin-2-yl)piperidine-2,6-dione derivatives and uses thereof
US20220088075A1 (en) 2019-02-22 2022-03-24 The Trustees Of The University Of Pennsylvania Combination therapies of egfrviii chimeric antigen receptors and pd-1 inhibitors
JP2022525937A (en) 2019-03-20 2022-05-20 イムチェック セラピューティクス エスエーエス Antibodies with specificity for BTN2 and their use
SG11202110732XA (en) 2019-03-29 2021-10-28 Atarga Llc Anti fgf23 antibody
CU20210096A7 (en) 2019-05-21 2022-06-06 Novartis Ag CD19 BINDING MOLECULES
US12037378B2 (en) 2019-05-21 2024-07-16 Novartis Ag Variant CD58 domains and uses thereof
EP3972634A2 (en) 2019-05-21 2022-03-30 Novartis AG Trispecific binding molecules against bcma and uses thereof
SG11202112926YA (en) 2019-05-30 2021-12-30 Amgen Inc Engineering the hinge region to drive antibody dimerization
WO2020246563A1 (en) 2019-06-05 2020-12-10 中外製薬株式会社 Antibody cleavage site-binding molecule
CA3139250A1 (en) 2019-07-10 2021-01-14 Naoki Kimura Claudin-6 binding molecules and uses thereof
EP3999540A1 (en) 2019-07-16 2022-05-25 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) Antibodies having specificity for cd38 and uses thereof
CN114867751A (en) 2019-08-12 2022-08-05 阿帕特夫研究和发展有限公司 4-1BB and OX40 binding proteins and related compositions and methods, anti-4-1 BB antibodies, anti-OX 40 antibodies
WO2021058729A1 (en) 2019-09-27 2021-04-01 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Anti-müllerian inhibiting substance type i receptor antibodies and uses thereof
EP3800201A1 (en) 2019-10-01 2021-04-07 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Cd28h stimulation enhances nk cell killing activities
TW202128166A (en) 2019-10-21 2021-08-01 瑞士商諾華公司 Combination therapies
WO2021079195A1 (en) 2019-10-21 2021-04-29 Novartis Ag Tim-3 inhibitors and uses thereof
KR20220100929A (en) 2019-11-15 2022-07-18 젠자임 코포레이션 Biparatopic CD73 antibody
MX2022005983A (en) 2019-11-18 2022-09-07 Janssen Biotech Inc Anti-cd79 chimeric antigen receptors, car-t cells, and uses thereof.
AR120566A1 (en) 2019-11-26 2022-02-23 Novartis Ag CHIMERIC ANTIGEN RECEPTORS AND THEIR USES
WO2021116119A1 (en) 2019-12-09 2021-06-17 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) Antibodies having specificity to her4 and uses thereof
BR112022011902A2 (en) 2019-12-20 2022-09-06 Novartis Ag COMBINATION THERAPIES
MX2022007840A (en) 2019-12-27 2022-07-19 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd Anti-ctla-4 antibody and use thereof.
WO2021146636A1 (en) 2020-01-17 2021-07-22 Becton, Dickinson And Company Methods and compositions for single cell secretomics
AU2021207348A1 (en) 2020-01-17 2022-08-11 Novartis Ag Combination comprising a TIM-3 inhibitor and a hypomethylating agent for use in treating myelodysplastic syndrome or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia
WO2021155916A1 (en) 2020-02-04 2021-08-12 BioNTech SE Treatment involving antigen vaccination and binding agents binding to pd-l1 and cd137
US20230174933A1 (en) 2020-02-27 2023-06-08 Novartis Ag Methods of making chimeric antigen receptor-expressing cells
WO2021170067A1 (en) 2020-02-28 2021-09-02 上海复宏汉霖生物技术股份有限公司 Anti-cd137 construct and use thereof
AU2021228078A1 (en) 2020-02-28 2022-09-22 Shanghai Henlius Biotech, Inc. Anti-CD137 constructs, multispecific antibody and uses thereof
WO2021175954A1 (en) 2020-03-04 2021-09-10 Imcheck Therapeutics Sas Antibodies having specificity for btnl8 and uses thereof
EP4121456A1 (en) 2020-03-18 2023-01-25 Genmab A/S Antibodies binding to b7h4
US20230128499A1 (en) 2020-03-27 2023-04-27 Novartis Ag Bispecific combination therapy for treating proliferative diseases and autoimmune diseases
AU2021250381A1 (en) 2020-03-31 2022-10-06 Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki Kaisha Method for producing multispecific antigen-binding molecules
BR112022020753A2 (en) 2020-04-15 2022-12-20 Voyager Therapeutics Inc TAU-BINDING COMPOUNDS
WO2021228956A1 (en) 2020-05-12 2021-11-18 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) New method to treat cutaneous t-cell lymphomas and tfh derived lymphomas
KR20230027056A (en) 2020-06-23 2023-02-27 노파르티스 아게 Dosage regimen comprising 3-(1-oxoisoindolin-2-yl)piperidine-2,6-dione derivatives
CN116323664A (en) 2020-07-16 2023-06-23 诺华股份有限公司 Anti-beta-cytokine antibodies, fragments thereof, and multispecific binding molecules
WO2022026592A2 (en) 2020-07-28 2022-02-03 Celltas Bio, Inc. Antibody molecules to coronavirus and uses thereof
US20230322898A1 (en) 2020-07-31 2023-10-12 Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki Kaisha Pharmaceutical composition comprising cell expressing chimeric receptor
EP4188549A1 (en) 2020-08-03 2023-06-07 Novartis AG Heteroaryl substituted 3-(1-oxoisoindolin-2-yl)piperidine-2,6-dione derivatives and uses thereof
CN116194477A (en) 2020-08-06 2023-05-30 生物技术欧洲股份公司 Binding agents to coronavirus S proteins
CA3191710A1 (en) 2020-08-20 2022-02-24 Amgen Inc. Antigen binding proteins with non-canonical disulfide in fab region
US20230416371A1 (en) 2020-08-28 2023-12-28 Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki Kaisha Heterodimer fc polypeptide
EP4204020A1 (en) 2020-08-31 2023-07-05 Advanced Accelerator Applications International S.A. Method of treating psma-expressing cancers
WO2022043557A1 (en) 2020-08-31 2022-03-03 Advanced Accelerator Applications International Sa Method of treating psma-expressing cancers
MX2023002542A (en) 2020-09-10 2023-03-15 Genmab As Bispecific antibody against cd3 and cd20 in combination therapy for treating diffuse large b-cell lymphoma.
WO2022053654A1 (en) 2020-09-10 2022-03-17 Genmab A/S Bispecific antibody against cd3 and cd20 in combination therapy for treating diffuse large b-cell lymphoma
KR20230066391A (en) 2020-09-10 2023-05-15 젠맵 에이/에스 Bispecific antibodies to CD3 and CD20 in combination therapy to treat follicular lymphoma
CN116437956A (en) 2020-09-10 2023-07-14 健玛保 Bispecific antibodies against CD3 and CD20 for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia
IL301086A (en) 2020-09-10 2023-05-01 Genmab As Bispecific antibody against cd3 and cd20 in combination therapy for treating follicular lymphoma
US20230374162A1 (en) 2020-10-07 2023-11-23 Amgen Inc. Rational selection of building blocks for the assembly of multispecific antibodies
JP2023547795A (en) 2020-10-15 2023-11-14 ユーシービー バイオファルマ エスアールエル Binding molecules that multimerize CD45
WO2022097061A1 (en) 2020-11-06 2022-05-12 Novartis Ag Anti-cd19 agent and b cell targeting agent combination therapy for treating b cell malignancies
CA3199095A1 (en) 2020-11-06 2022-05-12 Novartis Ag Cd19 binding molecules and uses thereof
WO2022097065A2 (en) 2020-11-06 2022-05-12 Novartis Ag ANTIBODY Fc VARIANTS
AU2021379598A1 (en) 2020-11-10 2023-06-08 Amgen Inc. Novel linkers of multispecific antigen binding domains
AU2021378316A1 (en) 2020-11-13 2023-06-01 Novartis Ag Combination therapies with chimeric antigen receptor (car)-expressing cells
IL303328A (en) 2020-12-01 2023-07-01 Aptevo Res & Development Llc Heterodimeric psma and cd3-binding bispecific antibodies
US20240141060A1 (en) 2021-01-29 2024-05-02 Novartis Ag Dosage regimes for anti-cd73 and anti-entpd2 antibodies and uses thereof
MX2023009568A (en) 2021-02-16 2023-10-24 Janssen Biotech Inc Materials and methods for enhanced linker targeting.
TW202304979A (en) 2021-04-07 2023-02-01 瑞士商諾華公司 USES OF ANTI-TGFβ ANTIBODIES AND OTHER THERAPEUTIC AGENTS FOR THE TREATMENT OF PROLIFERATIVE DISEASES
WO2022219080A1 (en) 2021-04-14 2022-10-20 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) New method to improve nk cells cytotoxicity
WO2022219076A1 (en) 2021-04-14 2022-10-20 INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale) New method to improve the anti-tumoral activity of macrophages
JP2024519212A (en) 2021-05-07 2024-05-09 ジェンマブ エー／エス Pharmaceutical compositions comprising bispecific antibodies that bind to B7H4 and CD3 - Patent Application 20070123333
AR125874A1 (en) 2021-05-18 2023-08-23 Novartis Ag COMBINATION THERAPIES
CR20230581A (en) 2021-06-04 2024-02-13 Amgen Inc Anti-ccr8 antibodies and uses thereof
CN118696057A (en) 2021-06-14 2024-09-24 阿根思有限公司 Anti-IL-9 antibodies and methods of use thereof
AU2022299846B2 (en) 2021-06-25 2024-08-15 Chugai Seiyaku Kabushiki Kaisha Anti–ctla-4 antibody
AR126236A1 (en) 2021-06-25 2023-10-04 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd USE OF THE ANTI-CTLA-4 ANTIBODY
EP4405396A2 (en) 2021-09-20 2024-07-31 Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. Compositions and methods for the treatment of her2 positive cancer
JPWO2023053282A1 (en) 2021-09-29 2023-04-06
IL311956A (en) 2021-10-08 2024-06-01 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd Method for preparing prefilled syringe formulation
AR127298A1 (en) 2021-10-08 2024-01-10 Genmab As ANTIBODIES THAT BIND CD30 AND CD3
WO2023092004A1 (en) 2021-11-17 2023-05-25 Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. Compositions and methods for the treatment of tau-related disorders
TW202342548A (en) 2022-02-07 2023-11-01 美商威特拉公司 Anti-idiotype antibody molecules and uses thereof
WO2023174521A1 (en) 2022-03-15 2023-09-21 Genmab A/S Binding agents binding to epcam and cd137
US20230357381A1 (en) 2022-04-26 2023-11-09 Novartis Ag Multispecific antibodies targeting il-13 and il-18
WO2023220695A2 (en) 2022-05-13 2023-11-16 Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. Compositions and methods for the treatment of her2 positive cancer
WO2024030976A2 (en) 2022-08-03 2024-02-08 Voyager Therapeutics, Inc. Compositions and methods for crossing the blood brain barrier
WO2024052503A1 (en) 2022-09-08 2024-03-14 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale Antibodies having specificity to ltbp2 and uses thereof
TW202428602A (en) 2022-09-15 2024-07-16 美商航海家醫療公司 Tau binding compounds
US20240209100A1 (en) 2022-10-21 2024-06-27 Diagonal Therapeutics Inc. Heteromeric agonistic antibodies to il-18 receptor
US20240209107A1 (en) 2022-12-19 2024-06-27 Sanofi Cd28/ox40 bispecific antibodies
WO2024168061A2 (en) 2023-02-07 2024-08-15 Ayan Therapeutics Inc. Antibody molecules binding to sars-cov-2
WO2024194685A2 (en) 2023-03-17 2024-09-26 Oxitope Pharma B.V. Anti-phosphocholine antibodies and methods of use thereof
WO2024194686A2 (en) 2023-03-17 2024-09-26 Oxitope Pharma B.V. Anti-phosphocholine antibodies and methods of use thereof
WO2024208898A1 (en) 2023-04-05 2024-10-10 Genmab A/S Pharmaceutical compositions comprising antibodies binding to cd30 and cd3
WO2024211796A1 (en) 2023-04-07 2024-10-10 Diagonal Therapeutics Inc. Bispecific agonistic antibodies to activin a receptor like type 1 (alk1)
WO2024211807A1 (en) 2023-04-07 2024-10-10 Diagonal Therapeutics Inc. Hinge-modified bispecific antibodies

Family Cites Families (64)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US5292668A (en) * 1981-12-21 1994-03-08 Boston Biomedical Research Institute, Inc. Bispecific antibody determinants
US5750172A (en) 1987-06-23 1998-05-12 Pharming B.V. Transgenic non human mammal milk
GB8823869D0 (en) 1988-10-12 1988-11-16 Medical Res Council Production of antibodies
US5633076A (en) 1989-12-01 1997-05-27 Pharming Bv Method of producing a transgenic bovine or transgenic bovine embryo
US5770429A (en) 1990-08-29 1998-06-23 Genpharm International, Inc. Transgenic non-human animals capable of producing heterologous antibodies
US5874299A (en) 1990-08-29 1999-02-23 Genpharm International, Inc. Transgenic non-human animals capable of producing heterologous antibodies
DK0814159T3 (en) 1990-08-29 2005-10-24 Genpharm Int Transgenic, non-human animals capable of forming heterologous antibodies
US5545806A (en) 1990-08-29 1996-08-13 Genpharm International, Inc. Ransgenic non-human animals for producing heterologous antibodies
US5661016A (en) 1990-08-29 1997-08-26 Genpharm International Inc. Transgenic non-human animals capable of producing heterologous antibodies of various isotypes
US5625126A (en) 1990-08-29 1997-04-29 Genpharm International, Inc. Transgenic non-human animals for producing heterologous antibodies
US5789650A (en) 1990-08-29 1998-08-04 Genpharm International, Inc. Transgenic non-human animals for producing heterologous antibodies
US5633425A (en) 1990-08-29 1997-05-27 Genpharm International, Inc. Transgenic non-human animals capable of producing heterologous antibodies
US5877397A (en) 1990-08-29 1999-03-02 Genpharm International Inc. Transgenic non-human animals capable of producing heterologous antibodies of various isotypes
US6300129B1 (en) 1990-08-29 2001-10-09 Genpharm International Transgenic non-human animals for producing heterologous antibodies
US5814318A (en) 1990-08-29 1998-09-29 Genpharm International Inc. Transgenic non-human animals for producing heterologous antibodies
WO1992022645A1 (en) 1991-06-14 1992-12-23 Genpharm International, Inc. Transgenic immunodeficient non-human animals
JPH06508880A (en) 1991-07-08 1994-10-06 ユニバーシティ　オブ　マサチューセッツ　アット　アムハースト Thermotropic liquid crystal segmented block copolymer
US5733743A (en) 1992-03-24 1998-03-31 Cambridge Antibody Technology Limited Methods for producing members of specific binding pairs
DK0804070T3 (en) 1993-03-09 2000-08-07 Genzyme Corp Method for isolating proteins from milk
JPH08509612A (en) 1993-04-26 1996-10-15 ジェンファーム インターナショナル インコーポレイテッド Transgenic non-human animal capable of producing heterologous antibody
US5827690A (en) 1993-12-20 1998-10-27 Genzyme Transgenics Corporatiion Transgenic production of antibodies in milk
US5731168A (en) 1995-03-01 1998-03-24 Genentech, Inc. Method for making heteromultimeric polypeptides
DK0912612T3 (en) * 1996-07-25 2004-02-02 Gsf Forschungszentrum Umwelt Simplified preparation of bispecific antibody fragments
US20040038894A1 (en) * 1996-12-31 2004-02-26 Institut National De La Sante Et De La Recherche Medicale (I.N.S.E.R.M.) Compounds for modulating cell negative regulations and biological applications thereof
WO1998050431A2 (en) 1997-05-02 1998-11-12 Genentech, Inc. A method for making multispecific antibodies having heteromultimeric and common components
WO1999055369A1 (en) 1998-04-28 1999-11-04 Smithkline Beecham Corporation Monoclonal antibodies with reduced immunogenicity
DE19859115A1 (en) * 1998-09-25 2000-03-30 Horst Lindhofer Use of delayed tumor cells in combination with intact antibodies for immunization
WO2000018435A1 (en) * 1998-09-25 2000-04-06 Horst Lindhofer Time-staggered utilization of tumor cells in combination with intact antibodies for immunization
US6737056B1 (en) 1999-01-15 2004-05-18 Genentech, Inc. Polypeptide variants with altered effector function
CN1399645A (en) 1999-07-29 2003-02-26 米德列斯公司 Human monoclonal antibodies to HER2/NEU
EP3214175A1 (en) 1999-08-24 2017-09-06 E. R. Squibb & Sons, L.L.C. Human ctla-4 antibodies and their uses
ES2405944T3 (en) 2000-11-30 2013-06-04 Medarex, Inc. Nucleic acids encoding reorganized human immunoglobulin sequences from transgenic transchromosomal mice zadas
US7247301B2 (en) 2001-06-13 2007-07-24 Genmab A/S Human monoclonal antibodies to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)
ES2524694T3 (en) * 2002-10-17 2014-12-11 Genmab A/S Human monoclonal antibodies against CD20
EP1587540B1 (en) * 2003-01-09 2021-09-15 MacroGenics, Inc. IDENTIFICATION AND ENGINEERING OF ANTIBODIES WITH VARIANT Fc REGIONS AND METHODS OF USING SAME
WO2005000898A2 (en) * 2003-06-27 2005-01-06 Biogen Idec Ma Inc. Use of hydrophobic-interaction-chromatography or hinge-region modifications for the production of homogeneous antibody-solutions
CN100497390C (en) * 2003-06-27 2009-06-10 比奥根艾迪克Ma公司 Use of hydrophobic-interaction-chromatography or hinge-region modifications for the production of homogeneous antibody-solutions
US20060134105A1 (en) * 2004-10-21 2006-06-22 Xencor, Inc. IgG immunoglobulin variants with optimized effector function
EP1693386A4 (en) * 2003-11-04 2008-12-31 Chugai Pharmaceutical Co Ltd Methods for producing antibody
JP2007515493A (en) * 2003-12-22 2007-06-14 セントカー・インコーポレーテツド Method for generating multimeric molecules
US8772013B2 (en) 2004-02-02 2014-07-08 Engeneic Molecular Delivery Pty Ltd Methods for targeted in vitro and in vivo drug delivery to mammalian cells via bacterially derived intact minicells
US20050208519A1 (en) * 2004-03-12 2005-09-22 Genenews Inc. Biomarkers for diagnosing schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
EP1810979B1 (en) 2004-09-22 2012-06-20 Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd. STABILIZED HUMAN IgG4 ANTIBODIES
EA012162B1 (en) 2004-10-22 2009-08-28 Эмджен Инк. Methods for refolding of recombinant antibodies
CN101198698B (en) 2005-03-31 2014-03-19 中外制药株式会社 Process for production of polypeptide by regulation of assembly
KR101866623B1 (en) * 2005-11-28 2018-07-04 젠맵 에이/에스 Recombinant monovalent antibodies and methods for production thereof
CN101437541A (en) * 2006-03-03 2009-05-20 伊兰药品公司 Methods of treating inflammatory and autoimmune diseases with natalizumab
SI1999154T1 (en) 2006-03-24 2013-01-31 Merck Patent Gmbh Engineered heterodimeric protein domains
WO2007147901A1 (en) 2006-06-22 2007-12-27 Novo Nordisk A/S Production of bispecific antibodies
CN104497143B (en) * 2007-03-29 2020-08-25 健玛保 Bispecific antibody and method for producing same
JP6071165B2 (en) 2007-05-31 2017-02-01 ゲンマブ エー／エス Stable IgG4 antibody
CA2689695A1 (en) 2007-05-31 2008-12-04 Genmab A/S Transgenic animals producing monovalent human antibodies and antibodies obtainable from these animals
DK2235064T3 (en) 2008-01-07 2016-01-11 Amgen Inc A process for the preparation of heterodimeric Fc molecules using electrostatic control effects
CA3053156A1 (en) 2008-12-03 2010-06-10 Genmab A/S Antibody variants having modifications in the constant region
EP3505636A1 (en) 2009-04-27 2019-07-03 OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Method for making heteromultimeric molecules
EA201201435A1 (en) 2010-04-20 2013-04-30 Генмаб А/С HETERODIMERNY ANTIBODY-Fc-CONTAINING PROTEINS AND METHODS FOR THEIR RECEIVING
RU2624027C2 (en) 2010-04-23 2017-06-30 Дженентек, Инк. Heteromultimeric proteins production
WO2011143545A1 (en) 2010-05-14 2011-11-17 Rinat Neuroscience Corporation Heterodimeric proteins and methods for producing and purifying them
US9562109B2 (en) 2010-11-05 2017-02-07 Zymeworks Inc. Stable heterodimeric antibody design with mutations in the Fc domain
CA2826186C (en) * 2011-02-01 2020-08-04 Genmab A/S Human antibodies and antibody-drug conjugates against cd74
ES2676878T3 (en) 2011-03-03 2018-07-25 Zymeworks Inc. Multivalent heteromultimer frame design and constructs
US10344050B2 (en) 2011-10-27 2019-07-09 Genmab A/S Production of heterodimeric proteins
US9593164B2 (en) 2012-11-21 2017-03-14 Janssen Biotech, Inc. Bispecific EGFR/c-Met antibodies
US9595164B2 (en) 2013-05-16 2017-03-14 Bally Gaming, Inc. Social gaming website and related in-advertisement gaming

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
See references of WO2008119353A1 *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
AU2008234248A1 (en) 2008-10-09
US20100105874A1 (en) 2010-04-29
US20160159930A1 (en) 2016-06-09
NZ614857A (en) 2015-04-24
JP5681482B2 (en) 2015-03-11
ES2593484T3 (en) 2016-12-09
US10906991B2 (en) 2021-02-02
EP2626372B1 (en) 2018-03-21
CN104497143A (en) 2015-04-08
JP2010522701A (en) 2010-07-08
IL201082A (en) 2017-04-30
AU2008234248C1 (en) 2015-01-22
IL201082A0 (en) 2010-05-17
WO2008119353A8 (en) 2009-07-30
US9212230B2 (en) 2015-12-15
CN101802015B (en) 2015-05-06
CA2681974A1 (en) 2008-10-09
CN101802015A (en) 2010-08-11
ES2667863T3 (en) 2018-05-14
CN104497143B (en) 2020-08-25
MX2009010282A (en) 2009-10-12
EP2139924B1 (en) 2016-07-06
AU2008234248B2 (en) 2014-07-10
EP2626372A1 (en) 2013-08-14
CA2681974C (en) 2019-12-31
WO2008119353A1 (en) 2008-10-09
JP2014239689A (en) 2014-12-25

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US10906991B2 (en) Bispecific antibodies and methods for production thereof
US20210061919A1 (en) STABLE IgG4 ANTIBODIES
KR102702612B1 (en) Design of therapeutic immunoglobulin G4 for improved bioanalytical and bioprocessing properties
CN107002114A (en) Assay and method for determining cdc eliciting antibodies
US11840568B2 (en) Lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) binding antibody and use thereof

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PUAI Public reference made under article 153(3) epc to a published international application that has entered the european phase

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009012

17P Request for examination filed

Effective date: 20091029

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: A1

Designated state(s): AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MT NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: AL BA MK RS

17Q First examination report despatched

Effective date: 20101229

RAP1 Party data changed (applicant data changed or rights of an application transferred)

Owner name: GENMAB A/S

RIC1 Information provided on ipc code assigned before grant

Ipc: C07K 16/46 20060101AFI20151120BHEP

Ipc: C07K 16/28 20060101ALI20151120BHEP

Ipc: C07K 16/00 20060101ALI20151120BHEP

GRAP Despatch of communication of intention to grant a patent

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNIGR1

INTG Intention to grant announced

Effective date: 20160126

GRAS Grant fee paid

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: EPIDOSNIGR3

GRAA (expected) grant

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009210

AK Designated contracting states

Kind code of ref document: B1

Designated state(s): AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HR HU IE IS IT LI LT LU LV MC MT NL NO PL PT RO SE SI SK TR

AX Request for extension of the european patent

Extension state: AL BA MK RS

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: GB

Ref legal event code: FG4D

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: AT

Ref legal event code: REF

Ref document number: 810636

Country of ref document: AT

Kind code of ref document: T

Effective date: 20160715

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: EP

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: IE

Ref legal event code: FG4D

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R096

Ref document number: 602008044987

Country of ref document: DE

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: NV

Representative=s name: OFFICE ERNEST T. FREYLINGER S.A., CH

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: NL

Ref legal event code: MP

Effective date: 20160706

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: LT

Ref legal event code: MG4D

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: ES

Ref legal event code: FG2A

Ref document number: 2593484

Country of ref document: ES

Kind code of ref document: T3

Effective date: 20161209

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: IT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: IS

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20161106

Ref country code: HR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: FI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: NL

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: NO

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20161006

Ref country code: LT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: FR

Ref legal event code: PLFP

Year of fee payment: 10

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: BE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: PT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20161107

Ref country code: PL

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: SE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: GR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20161007

Ref country code: LV

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: DE

Ref legal event code: R097

Ref document number: 602008044987

Country of ref document: DE

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: RO

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: EE

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

PLBE No opposition filed within time limit

Free format text: ORIGINAL CODE: 0009261

STAA Information on the status of an ep patent application or granted ep patent

Free format text: STATUS: NO OPPOSITION FILED WITHIN TIME LIMIT

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: CZ

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: BG

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20161006

Ref country code: DK

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

Ref country code: SK

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

26N No opposition filed

Effective date: 20170407

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: SI

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: MC

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: LU

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20170328

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: FR

Ref legal event code: PLFP

Year of fee payment: 11

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: CH

Ref legal event code: PCOW

Free format text: NEW ADDRESS: KALVEBOD BRYGGE 43, 1560 COPENHAGEN V (DK)

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: MT

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20170328

REG Reference to a national code

Ref country code: AT

Ref legal event code: UEP

Ref document number: 810636

Country of ref document: AT

Kind code of ref document: T

Effective date: 20160706

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: HU

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT; INVALID AB INITIO

Effective date: 20080328

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: CY

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF NON-PAYMENT OF DUE FEES

Effective date: 20160706

PG25 Lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: TR

Free format text: LAPSE BECAUSE OF FAILURE TO SUBMIT A TRANSLATION OF THE DESCRIPTION OR TO PAY THE FEE WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED TIME-LIMIT

Effective date: 20160706

P01 Opt-out of the competence of the unified patent court (upc) registered

Effective date: 20230512

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: IE

Payment date: 20240209

Year of fee payment: 17

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: AT

Payment date: 20240226

Year of fee payment: 17

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: DE

Payment date: 20240130

Year of fee payment: 17

Ref country code: GB

Payment date: 20240108

Year of fee payment: 17

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: FR

Payment date: 20240213

Year of fee payment: 17

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: CH

Payment date: 20240401

Year of fee payment: 17

PGFP Annual fee paid to national office [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo]

Ref country code: ES

Payment date: 20240409

Year of fee payment: 17